Soldiers
by blizzard2798
Summary: After the disastrous end to the Vytal Festival and the failure of Ozpin's Guardians, Yang is sitting in her room as Ruby leaves to pursue Cinder. Right as she begins to sink further into her depression, an unexpected ally makes his presence known.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Suspect is attempting to escape on foot. Officer Blane pursuing. Request immediate backup as suspect appears armed and dangerous."

"Copy that, Blane. Sending a bullhead to your location. ETA is three minutes."

"Copy that, dispatch." Blane responded, switching off her radio, "Just my luck; first day back and already a runner. I should gave left it one more day."

The "runner" in question was leading a merry chase down back alleys and over fences. He was wearing a dark crimson trenchcoat with black jeans and a black t-shirt. His hair was pale blond and sticking out all over the place. Every few seconds he'd turn his head to check if she was still behind him. In those brief glimpses she could make out that he was wearing what looked like a multicoloured grimm mask. The most impressive thing about him though, were his arms. He wore two gauntlets: the right one was yellow, the left one was pale blue. Even from a distance Blane could tell they were weapons.

Suddenly, the runner stopped dead. He pulled out a flashing scroll and seemed to start crying when he looked at it.

"Freeze!" Blane shouted as she raised her rifle, "By authority of the Atlesian military you are hereby under arrest for suspicion of thievery. Will you come quietly?"

"Oh, officer. I really am the least of your worries," he said as he turned around. It was then that Blane noticed the shaking she had assumed was crying was actually laughter.

"And why is that?" Blane responded.

"Because, my lovely officer," the man raised his left hand and Blane immediately found herself encased in a block of ice, "War has just come to Remnant. And the people we're fighting are people I very much dislike. That bullhead should be around to pick you up soon, so you shouldn't freeze to death."

With that the man snapped his fingers on his right and a yellow portal opened up. Right as he crossed through Blane was able to see his scroll and make out one word: Soldiers.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: It's all relative**

Yang sat in her bedroom as she had every day for the past few months and looked out her window.

It wasn't that she didn't want to get up and go after the people who had destroyed Beacon; She was just too broken to bring herself to fight. Adam and Blake had seen to that. Adam had broken her physically and Blake had broken her emotionally. The sting of betrayal was still fresh even after months.

She had thought Blake understood that handling everything alone wasn't the answer anymore. She thought Blake would be able to trust her enough not to run away anymore. Clearly that had been a mistake.

Yang heard a sudden clatter and a moment later her father ran by her door.

 _So,_ She thought, _Ruby really left to chase Pyrrha's killer. Good for her. Maybe she can do what I can't anym-_

Her self-despising inner monologue was cut off by a sudden disruption. It felt as if the world had been distorted and then snapped back to normal. Except it wasn't quite normal; There was now a very strange looking man in red and black and wearing a grimm mask standing in her doorway.

"Who the hell are you?!" Yang was able to shout while attempting to reach for Ember Celica, "If you're here to kill me I won't go down easy."

As if a blur the man dashed forward and scooped up Ember Celica, "Easy there, Yang. I'm not here to kill you. In fact, I'm here to help. I just wanted a chance to explain myself before you shot me. Can you do that for me? If you can promise you won't shoot me, I will explain myself and then answer almost any question you have."

Yang considered for a moment whether she could trust the man who suddenly appeared in her doorway as if by magic. On the one hand, he could be crazy. On the other hand, if he was going to kill her he probably would have done it already, "OK. I'll listen to what you have to say. But I want to wear Ember Celica while you do. As insurance."

"Fair enough," He handed back her weapon, "Now, where should I begin? Oh, I know. What do you know about Qrow? How involved he is with Ozpin? That kind of thing."

"Well, I know he was part of a powerful group that protected some kind of secret from Remnant's history. I know that most of his missions were secretly assigned by Ozpin. I know that their group recruited Pyrrha before she died. Besides that, not much. Not related to Ozpin anyway."

"Then let me fill you in on some things. The group Ozpin headed went by a few different names; The Brotherhood and The Guardians to name a couple. They were in place to ensure that the peace between the four kingdoms lasted as long as it could. That was why they sometimes referred to themselves as guardians. Do you know the old saying about guardians?"

"No"

"It basically says that a guardian is for times of peace. Unfortunately, peace doesn't last. And in that case, you require something else. Ozpin knew that war would eventually come, as it always does. So he created another group; a group that would fight to end said war. We like to call ourselves soldiers."

"But, what makes you different from uncle Qrow? Why would Ozpin choose you to be a soldier? Who are you anyway?"

"Those are all very good questions, Yang. Just as I would expect from Qrow's niece. I can answer the first two questions together. The thing that sets me apart from Qrow is that I am willing to accept a lot of collateral damage in a fight. I am willing to destroy anything or anyone to get my target. It's a trait which some would use as an excuse to lock me up, but, it also makes me uniquely qualified to be a soldier while also disqualifying me from being a guardian or a huntsman at all."

"So, you'll kill anyone to kill your target?"

"Yep. It's caused a lot of bad blood with...people over the years. Nothing I can't handle, though."

"Now, you also asked who I am," the man reached up and removed his mask, "My name is Rain," his eyes underneath the mask were a dark purple, "And I am your brother, Yang."

* * *

Yang sat there, uncomprehending, as the full weight of what Rain had said sank in. A brother? Could she really have a brother she didn't know about? It was possible, considering her mother had cut herself off from everyone shortly after Yang was born. Except, he looked the same age as her-if not older-and her dad had never mentioned another time when her mother had vanished for awhile.

"How can I know you aren't lying? Mom never disappeared until after I was born."

"That's true, sister; Our mother never disappeared until after _we_ were born. I am your twin. Nice to finally meet you."

"Wh-why would she keep you and not me? I'm her daughter."

"First of all, it wasn't easy being raised by her. Also, in order to understand her decision you need information that is not mine to share. However, I can tell you that she gave you your best chance to live a normal life and be happy."

"But she abandoned me!" Yang slammed her fist on the table as she stood up, "I spent so long believing she didn't want me and I'm supposed to believe some stranger claiming to be my twin brother that she did it for _me_?!" Yang's eyes had turned red now and Rain was sweating from the heat emanating off his sister, "How could that make sense?!"

"Calm down, Yang. I can't tell you everything yet, but I am here to help you. You're already up and out of bed. Admittedly, you're up because you want to kill me, but it's progress. We have a lot of work to do and I need you to stop feeling sorry for yourself."

"How can I?! If you haven't noticed, I lost my arm. I'll never be fully combat capable again." A tear rolled down her face, "I couldn't even protect my partner." As quickly as she had unleashed her rage it dwindled away to nothing and she started to collapse. Rain rushed to catch her before she dropped to the ground.

* * *

"Yang. Are you okay?" Her father was standing over her bed, shaking her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm okay." _Was it all a dream?_ she wondered, "Were you able to catch up with Ruby?"

Her father's expression told her all she needed to know, "No, I didn't. She managed to disappear down some sort of secret trail or something. There was no way I could track her. She's very resourceful, your sister: resourceful and stubborn."

An awkward silence seemed to descend on the room. Right before it reached an uncomfortable level Taiyang stood up and started walking towards the hallway, "You get some rest now, sweetie. Soon you'll be back to kicking ass and taking names."

"Dad, wait!" Yang stopped him from leaving just yet, "Is it- did you ever hear- do I have a twin brother?"

Taiyang seemed to stiffen for a second before he returned to his normal, relaxed posture, "I've often pondered that myself; Whether or not you might have a twin somewhere out there. But I don't think your mother would have split up twins. Even she wouldn't do something like that. Anyway, what brought on that question?"

"Nothing, really. I've just had a lot of time to think these past few months. Sometimes those thoughts turn to what could have been, that's all."

"OK. Get some rest, kid. You'll need it." With that he turned and left her room, closing the door behind him.

"Maybe it _was_ just a dream," Yang muttered to herself, "but it felt so real."

Yang looked out her window as she had every day for months. But this time something was different. In the bottom right corner was a note.

* * *

 **AN: To whoever ends up reading this: Please go easy on me. I am still not 100% on certain punctuation uses and that may lead to some confusion when reading. I am still confused as to which side of "but" the comma goes on (I was taught both). For the most part, though I feel like I was able to convey the story I could see in my head. More to come.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Family Matters**

It took Yang awhile to build up the energy to get out of bed. It took even longer to muster enough courage to read the note.

 _Hey, Yang,_

 _That wasn't exactly how I planned that conversation to go. Now I realize that I should have put your emotions into the equation. Sometimes I forget about other people. Look: Everything I said is true. I am your twin and I kind of work for Ozpin. Although, now that Ozpin is missing, I guess I don't really have a boss anymore. That could be very dangerous. Anyway, as I was trying to tell you, I need your help. I can't go to anyone else because my team are all in the other kingdoms doing... other things. I know you don't believe in yourself right now, but you should. Oz kept me updated about you and the rest of our little dysfunctional family. I know how capable you were- how capable you are. There are things I need to do now that war has come that I would prefer to do with someone to watch my back. I'll be back in three days. I have some business to take care of on the mainland. Make your decision by then. No matter what you choose I'm still happy I got to meet you._

Yang read and reread the note. It didn't seem possible, but here was proof that her conversation with Rain had really happened. Now she had a decision to make. She could continue the way she had been or she could dust herself off and get back on the horse. She needed to know more, though, before she could make it.

* * *

Taiyang was sitting in the downstairs living room drinking coffee. He felt so useless. Everyone was doing something. Qrow was out doing his best to retake Beacon, Ruby was off doing her best to avenge her friend, and he knew Raven was out there doing what she does best. He, meanwhile was sitting at home, drinking coffee.

He wasn't exactly doing nothing. He was looking after Yang while she recuperated. Although, he wasn't entirely sure when that would be. She just seemed to be sinking deeper into her own darkness daily and he didn't know how to help her. He didn't know if anyone _could_ help.

All of a sudden, Taiyang heard a noise that he hadn't heard in awhile: Yang was walking down the stairs.

"So," Taiyang stood up, "You got out of bed. I guess that means you're feeling better?"

Yang was walking down the stairs very slowly, almost as if she were in pain. Which she probably was, considering after months in bed her muscles had started to atrophy. "Not exactly feeling better, but I have some things I need to do. Do you have any way of contacting uncle Qrow? I need to talk to him."

"Uh-um yeah. He left a special antenna at the house a few years ago. We can communicate with some of his friends on the shore of the mainland. They can get a message to him in the city. But, sweetie, why do you need to talk to Qrow?"

"I need answers that only he and Ozpin would have. Ozpin isn't around so, I need my uncle. Where's the antenna?"

"It's in the basement. The switch is on the left , Qrow might not be able to come for several days. He's pretty busy trying to get rid of that massive grimm."

"Oh, he'll come. I know exactly how to get him here."

Yang descended the stairs into the basement. She had to look around for awhile before she found the antenna. The basement seemed disproportionately large compared to the house. When she finally found it it was covered in a fine layer of dust. It obviously hadn't been used since it had been put here. What would have been the point? The CCTS was still functioning back then.

Yang flipped the switch and the antenna booted up for probably the first time ever. Yang waited several minutes until a scratchy voice came through a speaker on the front of the antenna, "Hello. Can I assume I am speaking to a member of the Xiao Long clan? If that is the case, please use the microphone underneath the speaker."

Yang fumbled with the microphone for a minute until she was able to turn it on, "Hello. This is Yang Xiao Long from Patch. Who am I speaking to?"

"Ahh, Yang. My name is Sean. Your uncle told me about you. Are you trying to reach him? He's a bit incapacitated at the moment, but I can get the message to him in about an hour."

"Thank you, yes I need to reach him asap. Tell him that there was some strong rain in my room this morning and that I need him to tell me why I never knew that was possible before. If he doesn't understand, tell him that rain is capitalized."

"Okay. I'm guessing that is some kind of code for something else. But, I don't get paid to question. I get paid to deliver messages. I'll do my absolute best to get him your message, ma'am. Coastal station, out."

After that the line seemed to go dead, so Yang turned off the antenna and lumbered back upstairs. Her father was waiting at the top.

"Yang, why did you need to talk to Qrow so suddenly? What actually brought on this sudden change? Please, talk to me."

"Dad, I don't have the full story. If I tried explaining it to you now, your heart might break. I can't do that to you. Sorry, but I won't say anymore."

"Does it have to with your mother? Did she visit you while I was trying to track down Ruby?"

"I'm not going to say either way, Dad. So don't ask." Yang went to the closet and pulled out a thermal jacket, "I'm going to go work out. I've gotten out of shape recently and I need to get stronger. I'll be back in a few hours." before her father could say anything she'd already walked out the door.

* * *

"So," Qrow turned to the other huntsmen and huntresses in the command tent, "That is my new strategy to retake Beacon. Any questions?"

An older-looking deer faunus with two great-swords on his back to Qrow's right raised his hand, "Yes, I have a question. How do you know this plan will work when the last four haven't? We can't just find more huntsmen and huntresses to replace our fallen. The grimm seem to keep replicating from that monstrosity, and we lose a few hunters every time we go in. Can you assure me that _this_ strategy will actually work?"

"Look, Enoch. No strategy is one hundred percent perfect. I will admit that we have lost several hunters in the previous attacks, and that will always weigh heavily on my mind. I have handwritten every condolence letter that has been sent to a dead hunter's family. So don't you **dare** accuse me of not thinking about our possible losses! You of all people should understand that I am doing the very best I possibly can against impossible odds."

Enoch appeared visibly hurt, "You're right, Qrow. I'm sorry. I lost my cool there. It won't happen again."

"I'm sorry too. The pressure just keeps building up and I shouldn't have gone off at you. It's just that we've never seen a grimm like that before. We need more information to kill it. Everybody get some rest. We carry out the plan at dawn."

Qrow walked back to his tent in silence. Nobody in the camp was courageous enough to talk to him. He was Ozpin's second, after all: Trained by the master and given his legacy. As he approached his tent he saw Sean waiting outside. He moved faster, internally panicking.

Sean saw him shortly before he reached the tent, "Sir, you have a message from-"

"Inside the tent, Sean. Never know who's listening." Qrow brushed past him into the tent, "Zip up the flap behind you."

After Qrow had gotten a drink he turned to Sean, "So, what happened?" he asked as he raised the glass to his mouth.

"Yang asked me to tell you that there was a strong rain in her room this morning and she wants to know why she never knew that was possible. She said if you didn't understand that I should tell you that it's rain with a capital 'R'."

There was a sound of breaking glass as Qrow's drink slipped out of his fingers and smashed on the floor, "Those were her exact words? Are you certain?"

"Yes, sir. Exactly as I told you. What's wrong?"

"Forget you ever heard that message. Erase any recordings you may have made. If I find out you didn't there will be nowhere you can hide from my wrath."

"Understood, sir."

"Also, go tell Enoch that he is in charge of tomorrow's operation. Let him know how to get in contact with me on Patch. I'm leaving tonight."

* * *

 **Author's note: So, that was a thing. I've actually already written the next chapter as well, but I'm going to hold off on posting it. I think I'm going to do weekly updates so that if I get writer's block I'll still have something to post. I hope you enjoy this chapter and the rest to follow.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Exposition Overload**

"So you're the infamous Blake." the blindfold was removed from her eyes and she saw a man in a multi-coloured grimm mask sitting in a chair opposite her, "I gotta say: I thought you'd be taller."

"What does the White Fang want with me now? You already took everything I held dear. Are you here to kill _me_ this time?"

This wasn't the first time since the attack on Beacon that they had come after her. She'd thought herself safe in her last hideout, but apparently it hadn't been enough. They had actually captured her this time. At least Yang would be safe when she was dead.

The man let out a bellowing laugh, "Oh, Blake, do you really think that only the White Fang wear these? These masks have been around for as long as mankind has fought the grimm. The White Fang have tainted the meaning of these masks. They used to be given to the greatest warriors as a mark of skill. I would never join that misguided effort to end racism. It can't be done. No, I'm not here to kill you. Not yet anyway. I'm here because you hurt someone dear to me: Your partner, Yang."

The colour seemed to drain out of Blake's face, "Did something happen to her after I left? I ran away to protect her. Please, is she okay?"

"No, she isn't." All the mirth seemed to have left his voice, "She has done nothing but sit in bed for months and stare out her window. She's depressed because you left, Blake. She probably could have dealt with the loss of an arm, a lot of people have. But the loss of a partner is something that can destroy most people...Yang is strong, but not that strong. She almost lost the will to live. So, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I did what I could to protect her from the White Fang. They would have gone after her if I was around. It was the right thing to do."

"So you believe."

"Anyway, who is Yang to you? She told me about all of her relatives and most of her friends. She never mentioned anyone like you. If you really cared about her, why weren't you at Beacon? Why did you wait so long to chase me down?"

"Who is Yang to me? Yang is possibly the one thing that allows me to hold onto my humanity. I wasn't at Beacon because I was restricted from seeing Yang until Ozpin and his allies had failed. I waited so long because I was in Atlas when this shit started and I had to arrange to steal a boat because all air travel was restricted in-and-out of that fascist kingdom! In short, it was very difficult to get here, but I did it because I care about my sister!"

The man froze, almost as if by not talking he could take back what he had blurted out, "Yang...is your sister? How is that possible? Ruby is Yang's only sibling. She told me so herself. Who the hell are you?!"

The man slumped in his chair, assuming a defeated posture and removing his mask. When he turned his face up to look at her Blake was shocked; he looked almost identical to Yang except his hair was spiky instead of curly and she could see a lot more pain in his eyes, "I am Yang's twin. Our mother separated us at birth because Yang was safer with our father. I only came back now because I need her help with what I am about to do."

"So, can you let me go? I don't understand why I'm here anymore. If you're her brother then you would let me go." Blake was unsure what to do with this information, but she really disliked being confined and she was trying anything to get out of it.

"Actually, Blake, I need something from you as well. If you'll do it, I can help you reunite with Yang."

* * *

Yang was beating up the practice dummies in their training field. She was working up more of a sweat than she would have before... everything. She wanted to feel angry, but she was more disappointed in herself that she had sunk so low. She was always the strongest, most powerful member of team RWBY. Now she was a ghost of her former self. She vowed that if the team were ever reunited, she would train twice as hard as she had: so that she could protect them from anything.

"Hey, kid." the gravelly voice broke her out of her reverie, "You're a little slow on your follow-up swing. If that were a grimm it would have gotten a hit in."

"Losing an arm can do that." She said very coolly.

"So Rain finally found you. I told him he shouldn't. I told him it would only cause you pain. He even agreed with me. Or he wanted me to think he had at least. I'm guessing you want to know why I never told you."

"Yeah. You could say that."

"I didn't tell you for the same reason I know you haven't told your father. It would have destroyed any good impressions you had left of Raven. I couldn't let you hate your own mother. Hell, I don't even know the full story. For all I know, there was an incredibly good reason that she split you up. Unfortunately though, Raven, Rain, and Oz are the only ones who know the full truth. Oz is missing and Rain once told me that it wasn't his secret to tell. And my sister hasn't been in contact since before all this started."

"He told me the same thing. He also told me he wanted my help for what he has to do now. Why does he want _my_ help? He said he had a team. He could even try working with you."

"Me and Rain have some...intense ideological differences. We only worked together once and I almost killed him. He can't use his team because they each had specific missions to perform once this 'war' broke out. He can't go to any of them for help. He probably wants your help so that he can get to know you."

"But why hasn't he found me before?" Yang cried petulantly, "If he cares so much, why wasn't he around?"

"Yang, something you should know about Rain is that he is something of a sociopath. He doesn't fully _get_ most emotions. Oz and Raven forbade him from interacting with anyone in the family except me. Now, with Oz gone and Raven gone dark, I guess he decided to take his chance. I would recommend hearing him out, though. The man may be a bit less than human, but he would never hurt you. I know that."

"When you said earlier that his team each had specific missions, what is _his_ mission?"

"Wish I knew, kid. I was part of the team to _prevent_ war, not end it. Ozpin never shared their missions with me. For all I know, he's actually following orders by contacting you. Ozpin put the Soldiers together because otherwise he would have had to kill each of them. They've each done some pretty terrible things in their past. Ozpin was the only thing completely preventing them from returning to their old ways. My recurring nightmare is that one of them will turn on us and I'll have to hunt them down."

"Why? You've never lost a fight."

"That is true, but I've never fought one of the Soldiers. They could very well beat me. In the hierarchy of power we had it went: Maidens, Ozpin, Soldiers, Guardians, everyone else."

"Who are the Maidens? I've never heard of them."

"Oh, shit. Did I say maidens? You know what? You're already involved. There are four people at any given time who can control the elements without using aura. They are reach representative of a season and there's a lot of other details, but other than that you already know enough. It's a secret many have died for, so listen to me when I tell you not to share this knowledge with another living soul. Most of the Soldiers don't even know about them. You can't tell anyone, Yang!"

"Just like you weren't supposed to tell me I had a twin?!"

"He's only your brother by blood. You share physical characteristics with him, but that is all. You and he are nothing alike. He is a terrifying demon on the battlefield, destroying friend and foe without remorse! I may have done the wrong thing, but it was in your best interests!"

"How do you know he would have corrupted me?! What if I could have helped him? Changed him. Made him better. Can you guarantee that _his_ personality would have won?!"

"Nope. I'm not even going to give you some made-up argument that will attempt to convince you it wasn't worth trying to help him. I just know how my sister is and I know the effect she had on me. I didn't want that for you.

"Now, if we're done here, I'm gonna go talk to your dad. I need to know which direction Ruby went. I can track her better than anyone. The master knows all the student's tricks, after all."

"Are you going to bring her back?"

"I don't know yet."

* * *

Enoch still couldn't believe what he was seeing. The entire Beacon campus was empty. No grimm anywhere to be found. Somehow overnight they had all just disappeared. Even the giant one. He wasn't sure how to deal with this. He wished Qrow hadn't abruptly left in the middle of the night.

Enoch turned to the small man beside him, "Sean, I need you to tell Qrow about this. Now."

"Understood, sir. But what should I tell him? This is unprecedented. Nobody has ever seen the grimm behave like this."

"Just tell him exactly what we've found. He needs to know."

"Sir," a first-year student carrying a mace came running up to him, "We found something at the tower, burned into the ground."

"What was it, boy? Speak up!"

"It was a word, sir. Just one word: Soldiers."

* * *

 **A.N:**

 **I'm still not entirely happy with this chapter. I've been editing for about a week and it still doesn't feel right. But if I want reviews on how to write better then I need to post what I have.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: A Deadly Storm**

Yang, her father, and her uncle were sitting in the dining room eating dinner in tense silence. Qrow and Taiyang had just had a shouting match about an hour earlier. It had started because Taiyang had asked Qrow what Yang had asked him to Patch for. Qrow had responded brusquely that it wasn't something Tai needed to know. Tai had protested that Yang was his daughter and therefore it damn well was something he needed to know. The conversation broke down after that.

"So Qrow," Tai broke the silence, "how are things going at Beacon?"

"Honestly, Tai? We've lost about thirty hunters and haven't made any progress. I'm starting to wonder if we can even kill that thing. Ozpin probably would have known exactly what to do. I wish I knew where he was."

"You can't beat yourself up about it, Qrow. Nobody could know everything Ozpin knew. The man was a living legend. If he's gone, you know he's doing something more important elsewhere. And that he trusts you to handle this."

"That's very inspiring, Tai. Unfortunately, it's wrong."

"Dinner's pretty good, Dad. The chicken is perfectly grilled."

"Thanks, sweetie. I did my best to celebrate you finally getting out of bed. I was starting to get worried."

"Well, you don't have to worry about me anymore. I'm going to get stronger and then I'm going to beat the crap out of whoever did this."

"Yang, you only have one arm now. You might be able to fight grimm, but whoever caused all of this is probably out of your league normally. You should let veteran hunters handle it. Like your uncle."

"I don't know, Tai." Qrow cut in, "I know a couple of people with robotic arms that can kick ass with the best of 'em. Yang could get one."

"Thanks, uncle."

"That's it!" Tai slammed his fist on the table, "What the hell is going on?! What aren't you two telling me? This morning Ruby runs off and then Yang gets out of bed, pulling a personality shift. Tell me what happened! What don't you want me to know?!"

Yang opened her mouth to respond, but was stopped by a knock at the door.

Qrow stood up, "I'll go get that." As he walked toward the door he pulled out his scythe. He opened the door and whoever stood there was hidden from view.

"No. No way am I letting you in!" Qrow seemed to respond to the mysterious outsider. "You know why not. Because if he learns the truth it will destroy him. Yes, it will. You don't know him. That doesn't mean you understand who he is. For the last time: No!" Qrow slammed the door and walked back to the table.

"Well?" Tai asked him.

"I think Yang might be right; This chicken tastes perf-"

Before Qrow could finish his sentence the front door blew open. Rain walked in through the broken doorway, "You know I don't have to listen to you anymore, Qrow. I offered you the choice to let me in as a courtesy."

Qrow's blade was to his throat in half a second. Rain just pushed it to the side with one finger, "Really, Qrow? You know that doesn't threaten me."

"Get! Out! Now!"

"Hey, I wasn't supposed to be back for another day and a half at least. I'm only here because you are. But then I over heard your guys' conversation and I figured I could help shed some light on the situation."

"I said GET OUT!" Tai and Yang had never seen Qrow lose his cool like this before. The implications were terrifying.

"Oh my god. I think I get it. You're scared of me, aren't you, Qrow? You're worried you can't put me down. Well, let me put your question to bed. The rest of my team you could probably beat one-on-one, but not me. I'm half your age and I'm already leagues ahead of you. Of course, I could put my money where my mouth is and fight you. But do you really want that? You know there are only two ways it could end if we fight seriously."

"Qrow, who the hell is this? Is he a friend or an enemy?" Tai asked from the table.

"I'll answer that for you, Qrow." Rain turned to Tai, "I'm a bit of both actually. Qrow sees me as an enemy, but I have no desire to kill any of you. Actually, I want to help Yang. Maybe even save the world while I'm at it. Who knows? I mean, with Ozpin gone I don't have anyone to keep me accountable. I could do anything I want. How scary would that be for you, Qrow?"

"Who are you? Why do you want to help my daughter? Answer me!"

"I'm not sure it's up to me to tell you, sir. That should be decided by Yang and maybe Qrow. But back to why I'm here. Qrow, if we could talk outside? I think they have some things to discuss."

Qrow and Rain walked out through the door and it reassembled behind them. Tai turned to his daughter. "Who was that Yang?"

Yang seemed frozen in place and it took her a few minutes to finally speak. "He's the reason I got up."

"But _who_ is he, Yang? Why was he able to motivate you when no one else could? Why was Qrow so scared of him? I've never seen Qrow like that before."

"Do you know about what Qrow was doing for Ozpin before all of this?"

"Yeah. He told me after the attack on Beacon. Why does that matter?"

"It matters because Qrow's group wasn't the only one Ozpin created. Ozpin called Qrow's group Guardians and the other group called themselves Soldiers. That man is the leader of the Soldiers."

"But that wouldn't cause Qrow to be so scared. What aren't you telling me?"

"The Soldiers- as far as I know- are all completely okay with collateral. They don't have a conscience. Ozpin gave them one last chance, because if he didn't he would have had to kill them. That's why uncle Qrow is scared of him. He doesn't know if he can stop them from going rogue."

"But why was he able to get you out of bed? Did he try to recruit you to these... Soldiers?"

"Not exactly. He asked me to help him with what he has to do now."

"But why would you agree? What could he have said to you?"

"Dad. What would you do if you knew a secret? A secret that could either ease a person's suffering or break them forever. If they were begging you to tell them and you didn't know what would happen to them? Would you tell them?"

"I don't know, Yang. I honestly don't know. But I need to know that if you leave, you'll be with someone who will keep you safe. You and Ruby are the most important people in the world to me."

Yang seemed to be psyching herself up, "His name is Rain, and he's my twin brother."

* * *

"OK. You got me out here. Now what do you want?" Qrow seemed to have had all the air knocked out of him as he sat down on a stump. "You wouldn't be talking to me if it wasn't important."

Rain's mood seemed to have done a complete one-eighty as he addressed Qrow, "I don't think I'm going to survive to the end of this war and I need someone to tell Yang some things when I'm gone. You're the only person I can count on not to die."

"Oh, is that why you threatened my life in there? I wouldn't be much good to you dead."

"I did that for my father's benefit. He needed to know I could protect Yang."

"So what do you want me to tell her after you're dead?"

"Tell her that I chose her because I needed to know if I was similar to her. If there was any resemblance between her and me. Tell her that I'm sorry I had to die, but it was probably the only way to achieve victory. Or save her life. I'm not sure why I'm going to die before this ends. I just know that I will. Tell her that I'm happy I got to fight alongside my sister to the very end."

"Anything else?" Qrow asked as he took a big swig from his flask.

"Nope. That was it."

"OK. But I got a question for you."

"I probably won't answer, but go ahead."

"What was your mission from Oz? I don't care about your team's missions. I just want to know what he asked _you_ to do."

" I'll whisper it to you. Never know who could be out there." Rain leaned down and whispered in Qrow's ear. As he spoke Qrow's eyes went from puzzled to confused to full of absolute terror.

Rain stood up, "Is that what you wanted to know, uncle? Do you feel better now?"

"No. I feel cold, actually. Cold and scared."

"Good. That's how everyone should be feeling. This war is going to be costly and will change the face of Remnant permanently. Fear is the appropriate response."

* * *

 **A.N: Gonna be honest. When I wrote this chapter I pretty much let my fingers write whatever they wanted. I edited afterwards, of course. But if you don't like it that's why.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Rising and Falling**

"Your... brother? How? Where has he been?"

"He wasn't allowed to see us. Ozpin and mom wouldn't let him."

"Of course Raven would do this. How could I have given her the benefit of the doubt after everything she's done? Even now she's finding new ways to disgust me."

"Dad, we don't know why-"

"Don't you dare make excuses for her! She made a choice and, as always, she chose wrong. She doesn't deserve anyone's compassion. After everything she's done, how could you stick up for her?"

"Because you still love her!"

Tai reeled back as if hit, "What? How could you say that?"

"Dad, be real. I've seen you look at her picture when you thought no one was looking. I've seen you cry over it. I know that deep down you still love her. And that means she is worth saving. You deserve to be happy, dad."

"Since when did you become an adult. I can still remember you as a toddler who would crawl into my bed because of her nightmares. Now you would risk death to give me a shot at happiness."

"Yes I would. You took care of me my whole life. Now it's my turn to look after you."

"I guess there's nothing I can say to dissuade you. I think it's time I spoke to your brother."

* * *

The front door opened and Yang stepped out. She turned to Rain, "He wants to speak with you."

"Well, I'd best not keep daddy dearest waiting." he got up and walked through the front door.

Yang turned to Qrow, still sitting on the stump, "Aren't you going to come in?"

"Nah. This is a private moment between them. We shouldn't interrupt." he patted a stump beside him, "Come sit down."

Yang walked over and sat down beside him, "So what did Rain want with you?"

"He was just covering some bases in case he dies on your mission. Personal stuff."

"Smart."

"Yang, what are you hoping to achieve by working with Rain? You know it's too late to change him. He's irredeemable now. He's let too much darkness into his soul."

"I'm hoping for a few things. I want to find my mom and learn why she kept Rain over me. I want to reunite her and dad. For him, not me. And, I want to kill the people responsible for what happened at the Vytal Festival. Too many good people died because of them. They need to see justice."

"Huh. Maybe you and Rain are more similar than I thought."

"What do you mean?"

"Yang, murder isn't justice. I'm not saying it won't be necessary. It probably will. But killing people won't right their wrongs. It won't undo what was done. It won't bring back your friends."

"But it will make me feel better."

"For awhile, yes it will. But eventually you'll realize that nothing was fixed. And then you'll go after someone else you hold responsible. And another and another. You'll fill your soul with darkness and become no better than the people you kill. If you do find Raven, ask her about it."

"I understand what you're trying to tell me, uncle. But I need to walk my own path. I need to learn more about where I came from."

"The answers you find might not be satisfactory, kid. Can you deal with that?"

"Yes."

At that moment Yang and Qrow heard an explosion from the house.

"I guess that means Tai got tired of Rain's bullshit. Let's hope there isn't too much of a mess to clean up."

* * *

The scene inside the house was not as bad as Qrow had expected. Only half the room was a pile of broken furniture and Rain was only slightly singed.

"What the hell happened?" Yang asked of no one in particular, "You were in here for ten minutes. What could Rain have done?"

"Hey. I resent that. All I did was not tell pops information that wasn't mine to share. Then he blew up part of the room."

"He was being a belligerent little shit. So I got mad. You know our family has rage issues."

"It's your side, Tai." Qrow stopped him from an easy out, "Raven, Ruby, and I don't have that same problem. Only the blondes in this family. It's kind of weird."

"Doesn't matter. He was still being belligerent. So I punched him."

"That was _not_ a punch, old man. I've felt punches and that was no punch."

"Wait. Rain, do you not know about Tai's punches? Did Oz and Raven never tell you?"

"What are you talking about, Qrow? He didn't punch me. There was no physical contact."

"Tai's punches aren't physical. They're concentrated aura that has legitimate mass until they hit their target. Then they explode. It's his semblance."

"Well, that's absolutely-" Rain seemed to realize something, "brilliant! What do you mean by target? Does he get to choose what it is? How long do the punches hang around? Can you choose exactly what it looks like?"

"Why?"

"Just trust me. Answer the questions."

"I can choose in my mind exactly what the punch needs to hit in order to explode. Until it hits said target it just stays around, maybe forever. I've never checked. I can make them look pretty much however I want, as well."

"How much mass does it have before it explodes?"

"Just about the same as it would if it were real. Why all the questions?"

"I don't know why you guys haven't thought of this before. Let me spell it out: Could you make an arm shape and then attach said arm to a person?"

Qrow and Tai saw immediately what Rain was hinting at. They looked at each other is astonishment, then turned to Yang. She still seemed confused by what he meant.

"Why would you need to attach an extra arm to a person? What good would that-" The light of understanding seemed to shine in her eyes, "No way. Dad, could that work?"

"I don't know. I've honestly never though about it. I always used my semblance purely offensively. It never occurred to me that I could use it to help amputees. Who would think of that?"

"Well, obviously _I_ would. Could it work, though?"

They all turned to look at Tai, "It's worth a shot. What should be the target?"

"Pyrrha Nikos. Can't hit a dead target."

Tai sat down on the floor and seemed to be focusing intently. A yellow glow started in between his hands. It grew into a fist and then lengthened into an arm. It grew more defined until they could see individual muscles and veins standing out. Eventually it stopped growing and Tai opened his eyes. He seemed pretty drained when he stood up.

"OK. It's as good as I can get it. Let's hope this works."

He walked over to Yang and took off her bandage. He then placed the arm against the stump and let out a little burst of aura. The arm radiated a blinding nimbus and when it settled the arm had joined seamlessly with the stump.

"OK." Rain said excitedly, "Now try moving it. If you can't, try pushing some aura into it."

For a few minutes it seemed the arm wouldn't move. But just when they were about to give up a finger twitched. It was followed soon after by the rest of her fingers, her wrist, and her elbow.

"It's working. It's actually working!" Yang was tearing up. She had never thought she would feel whole again. She quickly realized that she still felt empty inside, though. It felt as if something was missing inside her heart. As if the core of her very being was gone. She still smiled outwardly though, for the benefit of her father. He needed a win and she couldn't take this away from him. She walked over and hugged her father with her new arm.

* * *

 **A.N: Yang's got a new arm! I was just trying to come up with a semblance for Taiyang and actually had the same realisation as Rain did while writing the scene. Character building turned into plot! I think it's cooler than giving her a robot arm or something. Then again, I wrote it. Whatever. Tell me if you liked it or disliked it please.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Bad Girls and Some Plot**

Cinder gripped her scroll. "You're sure? Because if you're lying to me, I will burn you to ash."

Emerald's voice crackled through the speaker, "I'm looking right at it. Beacon is empty. No sign of the dragon or any other grimm. It's like they were all destroyed at once. There aren't even any blast marks anywhere. Whatever did this isn't messing around."

"There's no clue as to who did it? None?"

"Well, there is one thing. I'm not even sure what it means."

"What. Is. It?"

"The world 'Soldiers' is burned into the ground at the base of the tower. I don't know what it means, though."

"Emerald, return to Mistral and wait with Mercury. Forget that word and keep your head low. I need to talk to our sponsor." Cinder ended the call and incinerated her scroll. She then turned north and marched on her way through the frozen pass.

 _Who is powerful enough to do this? Ozpin was the only one and he is no longer a problem. It seems there is another player in the game. Good. I want to test my powers on a worthy opponent._

Cinder reached her destination after about an hour. In the middle of the pass was a small cave. Cinder ducked inside and summoned a fireball to light her way.

Deep in the cave Cinder stopped in front of an elaborate mosaic. It showed a scene from the distant past. Huntsmen and Huntresses with simple weapons and using raw dust were fighting a losing battle against an overwhelming tide of grimm. Just when the last huntress fell, a pillar of light erupted from the center of the dead hunters. In the next portion all the grimm had been wiped into a terrible hellscape. The next scene was one of a hooded figure leading some grimm to a dark red vortex. The grimm were able to pass through and reappeared in Remnant. There was more to the mosaic. It showed humanity rising into the four kingdoms and all the way up to the Vytal festival. There was about one quarter of the mosaic past that, but it was covered in a black fog. Almost as if the future was still being built.

A pale form arose out of the black fog. "Cinder," it acknowledged her, "why do you seem so troubled? We are so close to getting what we want. A new world where we can punish those who have humiliated and shunned you. Those who dared attempt to banish me. I cannot wait until I leave this place and tear down everything my enemies have built. Our vengeance will be brutal and glorious. So what could be troubling you?"

"It appears that our strategy has been slightly derailed by a new opponent. Beacon has been cleared of grimm overnight. Whoever did it left the word 'Soldiers' burned into the ground underneath the tower. There aren't even any blast marks to indicate a fight. It also seems that there are no grimm anywhere close to the city. Who could have done this, my mistress?"

"Hahaha." The figure let out a short laugh, "Ozpin's backups have finally activated themselves."

"But not even the Maidens could have done this without making a scene. None of his Guardians are capable of this either. What do you mean by his 'backups'? Who is left that could do this?"

"I always expected this. Ozpin learned the same lesson I did, it seems. He learned that in order to win, you must sometimes ally with your lesser enemies. The people who could do this, Cinder, would be spoken of in whispers in darkened basements. They would have done terrible things to garner Ozpin's attention; he recruited master killers. Evidently they believe themselves to be soldiers."

"If they're so powerful how do we stop them?"

" _You_ won't. You will continue to track down the Maidens. We will need all of their power to achieve our goals. I will find a way to deal with this new threat. I may call on you soon to deliver my plan. Keep the relic with you at all times."

"Yes, ma'am. I already have a lead on the summer maiden."

"Go, then. And feed the relic some of her blood. Just in case."

"With pleasure." Cinder responded with a devious grin, "I will ensure that-" she paused, alarmed, "The mosaic! More is being revealed!"

Indeed, the fog was retreating around the next portion. A scene of blonde brawlers wreathed in the most destructive elements was taking shape. They were standing over a fallen body, but it was yet unclear who it was. The fog kept washing over it and then retreating. It cycled through Cinder, a woman in a brown cloak, another blonde man, and a monkey faunus and Adam Taurus.

"Mistress, what does this mean? It shows so many."

"No. It should be showing many more. The innumerable threads of destiny are drawing together. Depending on who dies they will draw closer. The doorways into the future are collapsing. We are reaching a turning point. And now we know exactly who will stand in our way."

* * *

"Ow! You dick!" Yang cried out, "I'm still getting my strength back; You don't have to hit quite so hard!"

"Get back on your feet." her brother commanded her, "We're not done yet. You still haven't dodged any of my attacks. I can't take you out in the field until I know you can handle yourself."

"How am I supposed to dodge your attacks when you move faster than Ruby?! It's too unfair!"

"You can dodge anyone if you slow down your mind and predict their movements. What do they teach you in combat schools? I learned this concept when I was eight years old."

"They teach us a lot, for the record, but not how to move faster than light! You trained in the wild. With mom. You never learned how to deal with people. Huntresses have to be able to save people _and_ kill monsters."

"Well from what I heard, you couldn't do either. That's how you lost your arm. Also-and not that this matters or anything, but- I actually have a mental condition which prevents me from dealing with people. I never claimed to be a huntsman. That isn't what our mission calls for. Never forget that. You might have to kill hundreds to save thousands. Now, DODGE!"

Yang's rage blew over to a point she'd never reached before. She couldn't believe he would talk about her losing her arm. It represented all of her feelings of inadequacy and fear. Her rage went so far that she suddenly experienced a moment of stillness. The world seemed to slow down around her and she could see the way Rain would move. Without understanding what she was doing, Yang jumped up and over Rain. While she was in the air, she collected as much force as she could in her fist and sent it rocketing down towards Rain's head.

Suddenly time sped up and Rain's hand was above his head, holding her fist in place. "Sorry, sis, but you'll need to be faster than that to hit me. Admirable, though." with that, Rain gripped her fist and swung her into the ground. "But you shouldn't have gone to hit me. Confidence is good, but overconfidence will kill you."

"What was that? It was like the world went slow around me and now I feel really drained. Seriously, what happened?"

"I call it 'slowdown'. You use your aura to speed up your own body to where you perceive time around you as moving slower. Without training you use up a lot of aura every time you activate it. Most people don't understand how to train it and use it as a Hail Mary. Ozpin taught me how to hone my mind enough to use a small amount of aura to activate it. I can teach you to do the same."

"Can you tell me what we're going to be doing once I'm strong enough? I'd like to know what I might be risking my life for."

"We're going to Vacuo. I have to meet up with some people and track down an ally."

"So when do you think I'll be able to 'slowdown' as well as you?"

"Oh, we can hit the road tonight if you want. I just had to make sure you could use it. I'll train you while we're travelling. Say your goodbyes. We'll leave in the morning. There is a lot of ground to cover."

"I have another question."

Rain sighed, "What now?"

"I was wondering; What is your semblance? You know mine, but I have no idea what yours is."

"My semblance is very unique. I've never even heard of anything like it, and I looked for a _very_ long time. It's easiest to show you. Tell me I have permission to use my semblance on you. Don't worry. There won't be any damage."

"OK? You have my permission, I guess?"

Rain reached out and touched her shoulder. Instantly, it was as if she had just gotten in a fight with a pack of Ursai. All of her strength left her and she collapsed. Rain quickly swooped down to grab her. When he touched her again she felt her aura refilling.

"What the hell was that?! It felt like you took away my aura."

"Correct. That is my semblance. Told you it was unique."

"But that's impossible. You can't just take someones aura. It's not _physically_ possible."

"Technically, for a normal person, it would be impossible. And for me it still hurts like a bitch taking someones aura unless I have permission. It hurts them too. But I can do so. You just felt the effects."

"But if you could do that, then you could kill someone by taking every last bit of aura. You could steal their soul."

"Yes, I could. But I haven't quite gone that far...yet. There are still a few lines I haven't crossed. So did that answer your question? Or did it just raise more?"

"The second one. Definitely more questions."

"Well I'll have to answer them on the road. Remember: we leave tomorrow morning."

With that, Rain walked off into the woods; leaving Yang alone with her thoughts.

* * *

Blake had been watching the twins fighting with a mix of interest and envy. She wished she could just walk over, hug Yang, and have everything be okay. But she couldn't. Nothing would ever be okay again. She turned and sped back to her campsite when Rain started walking towards the trees she was hiding in.

By the time she got to the campsite Rain was sitting on a stump, reading one of her books. "You were watching us." He said it not as a judgment, but merely as a statement of fact. "So get ready to move out. Meet my private ship at the dock tonight and tell Julian I sent you. He'll put you in the hidden room. Any questions?"

"Who's in Vacuo?"

"You haven't earned that knowledge yet. You'll just have to be patient and see how things play out."

Rain seemed to sense something and cocked his ear to the side. He stood up after about a minute, "It seems, Blake, that you do deserve some trust. We'll be meeting up with some of my team and we'll be searching for a maiden. Although, we might find something else instead."

"Who just spoke to you? Who would you listen to?"

"Be at the dock by midnight; Julian doesn't like to be kept waiting." Rain seemed to blur and disappear after that.

* * *

 **A.N: I really hope that villain scene reads well. I wanted to play around with the idea of giving the audience information the protagonists don't know. That's always interesting. Also, I bet you can't guess who's going to die around the twins. That'll be my surprise**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: They're on a Boat!**

Yang was surprised by how comfortable Rain's ship was; It was like a well-defended yacht. Large cannons lined both sides and the front. Among the cannons were a scattering of machine-gun turrets. At the back was a wall of steel and a massive engine that allowed the ship to plow through the water.

The decks were a stark contrast to the outside. There were three main decks as well as a command deck. The bottom deck had a large pool and a large buffet table that stretched into a U-shape. The second deck was a gym and sparring area. The sparring area backed up to the edge of the deck over the pool. The third deck was a conference area with a large table and thirteen seats around it. Yang wondered who they were all for.

"So where did you get this ship? There's no way you bought it. Who would make something like this? It's a bit excessive."

"Well, technically, I kind of bought it. It was originally requisitioned and built for a corrupt Atlesian officer. I was asked to 'remove' him from his position. All I wanted in return was this ship. It was actually pretty below what my employer was willing to pay. I often wonder if I should have asked for more. But I now have a private ship which is allowed anywhere I please. So I think it worked out well for me. It also has a special radar to detect underwater grimm so we never get surprised."

"Cool. But who crews the ship? I can't imagine anyone normal willing to get close to this thing."

"Well, the captain came with the ship. I let him hire the crew himself and he hired the people nobody else would."

"So it's crewed by criminals."

"No. It is crewed by people who made mistakes in their past and have payed their debt to society. Most people can't see the man, though. They can only see what he used to be. But people are always changing, sis. We give them a chance to prove that they've changed. They're extremely grateful to be treated as a person again, Yang. Also, former convicts make for great fighters."

"I guess I never looked at it that way."

"Most people can't understand what it's like. Being treated as a lesser being because of a mistake. I wish people could know the stigma. They would never turn down a reformed criminal again without getting to know them first."

Yang sensed that they could go no further in that conversation without digging up some deep-seated emotional issues. So she attempted to change the subject, "Why do you wear that mask? It makes you look like a very flamboyant member of the White Fang."

Rain let out a small chuckle, "You know something? You are the first person to phrase it quite like that. The White Fang may have adopted these masks, but they were far from the first to use them. The story of these masks stretches back to the very beginnings of history. In the ancient world there used to be a lot more grimm. At least one hundred times what it is now. Humanity was supremely overwhelmed. The warriors of that time all united in one last effort to defeat the grimm and it went terribly. They charged deep into grimm territory, but were quickly halted and surrounded. They died by the thousands as a hundred grimm would rise to replace a dead one. When the last warrior fell, though, something happened. All the grimm were enveloped in a cascade of light and they disappeared. When the dust cleared only their masks remained. Each warrior was buried with a mask on their tombstone. The people knew the grimm would return and started training new warriors. Eventually the grimm did return, albeit in lesser numbers. The warriors who perished in battle with grimm were buried with the remaining masks. After a time the masks were given to the greatest warriors of each generation as well as the dead. Of course, they eventually ran out of masks and the tradition faded into the dust of history."

"But the grimm don't leave anything behind when they die. It's why nobody can ever prove what they've killed."

"Apparently, something about that light allowed the masks to become solid. Ozpin doesn't even understand it."

"So then where'd you get yours?"

"Ozpin gave it to me. He said it came from the greatest grimm he had ever faced. He said it was as fast and strong as a human, and almost as intelligent. Maybe that's why this mask stayed around."

"On the topic of odd items; what do your weapons do? I haven't seen you use them yet."

"These are Shock," he held up his right hand, "and Awe." he held up his left. "They are dust focusing weapons. Very specific dust, though. They use energy and ice. One of my favourite things to do is this."

Rain clapped his hand and as he separated them a shape started taking form in between. When he finished he was holding a sword made of ice with what looked to be a core of energy. He gripped it in his right hand and swung it around a few times.

"But wouldn't ice make for a pretty bad sword? It would shatter against a real sword."

"Ordinarily you'd be right. But when I hold it with Awe I can strengthen it with extra ice. When I hold it with Shock it isn't strengthened, but if it breaks on someone's weapon they get a nasty surprise. The core of energy is highly concentrated and could kill a King Taijitu. Isn't that awesome?"

"How in the hell did you come up with that?! Who would even think to use dust like that?"

"I actually learned it from a disgraced member of the Schnee family. He was eager to be asked anything by anyone, I think. He was a pretty broken man when I found him. His brother didn't like to share and framed him for embezzlement. He died pretty soon after he taught me what I needed. I buried him secretly in the Schnee family plot." he chuckled a little to himself, "If you ever see your friend Weiss again, ask about her uncle Desmond."

"I might do that. So -since we're going there- what is Vacuo like? I've never been there before."

"On the fringes of the kingdom, it's a lot like Vale; forests and such. Further in, though, it becomes a savanna followed by a desert. The people there have to work even harder to survive because of the poor conditions. Water is scarce and nature itself works against you. Maybe in spite of that, the people are some of the nicest you'll ever meet; they will open their home to anyone in need. That factor will make our job easier."

"How so?"

"We'll be looking for information about a specific person. Anywhere else people will be hesitant to tell what they know. In Vacuo they would tell us with a smile on their face. I love the place. Basically lawless and everyone will hide you from the cops."

"I have a friend from Vacuo named Sun who is basically everything you described. Friendly and he doesn't like the cops."

"Oh, the monkey? He's one of the people I want to talk to."

"Why? What does he have to do with any of this? And please don't call him a monkey."

"Local contact. People are even more likely to help _him_ over us. It'll be your job to convince him to help us."

"But he goes to Haven. Why would he be in Vacuo?"

Rain looked at her a little incredulously, "You really did cut yourself off from the world, didn't you? With the CCTS down, all the huntsmen and huntresses in training were sent into the field to deal with the grimm. Vacuo has the least hunters stationed there, so the other academies sent extra teams there. Because he was born there, Sun's team was sent to Vacuo."

"I hope he'll be willing to help us out."

"You've got plenty of time to rehearse what you're going to say; he's based in the center of Vacuo and we'll be arriving on the coast. It's a four day trek across the desert." He cocked his head, as if hearing something, "I have something to check out below decks. I'll see you in a few hours."

* * *

Blake started as the false wall was pulled back and Rain walked in. She had just gotten out of the shower and was standing in nothing but a towel. Rain froze and slowly turned around, "I'll let you get dressed before we talk. You've got five minutes."

She quickly jumped into her clothes and straightened them all out. She had just gotten her bow on when Rain walked back through the door. "Did nobody ever teach you how to knock?! Were you raised in the woods or something?!"

"Actually, yes. It was how my mother taught me to fight. You don't fight; you don't survive. So no, I never got taught how to knock."

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't know."

"No need for apologies. I came to tell you what to do after we land in Vacuo."

"OK. What do you want me to do?"

"Wow. You are scary good at taking orders. You'll be following an hour behind us the entire time, except at night. At night you will get as close as possible in case of a grimm attack. During the day, if we get attacked, do not come and help. I can take care of anything that attacks."

"Then why do you want me close to you at night in case of grimm attacks?"

"It's more to protect you than us. Also, you see better at night and would be able to give us an early warning. Are we clear?"

"Understood. Anything else?"

"Nope. That should be it." Rain got up and opened the false panel. As he stepped through, he turned around, "Oh, I almost forgot; You're ears look cute when they're wet." He ducked out with a grin right before she hurled a vase at his head.

Blake stood there, fuming; how dare he make advances at her?! He was Yang's _brother_. He was a sociopath, for crying out loud! He couldn't talk to her like that! She would have gone storming after him and given him a beating, but Yang might see her if she did.

As she stood their she started to realize there was a chance he just might have been teasing her. In this moment of realization she got frustrated with herself; why was her first instinct that he liked her? It didn't make any sense. Maybe it had just been too long since she had dealt with people. She needed some sleep.

As she closed her eyes she couldn't possibly imagine the hell that the next few weeks would have in store for her and her travelling companions. Or the ways they would all change by the end of it.

* * *

 **A.N: Honestly had no idea what to call this chapter, so I made a Lonely Island reference. Also, for the all of eight people I know are reading this: Should I make the chapters longer? I've been trying to keep them to about a four-page length in OpenOffice, but I don't know if that is long enough. It's up to you guys, so please send me a review or something. Thank you in advance.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Rain ships it**

"This suuuuucks." Yang groaned, "Why do we have to walk? Don't you have your own airship or something? This is too hot and boring."

"Firstly, there is a point to _everything_ we are going to do. And I do mean everything. Second, stop your whining; I've considered killing you every time you open your mouth to bitch at me. It's only been a day-and-a-half, for crying out loud. The more time you waste complaining, the longer it will be before we get there."

"Can't you make an ice umbrella or something? Screen us and cool us at the same time."

"That would be a waste of dust, not to mention impractical. Do _you_ want to hold a heavy slab of ice over our heads for hours on end? Because I don't. And another thing-" Rain cocked his head again. "You know what? You take a break. I'm going to go check out something behind us." He then clapped his hands and an umbrella of ice appeared, sticking up out of the sand. Then he turned around and walked off into the dunes.

* * *

Rain was starting to get pissed at Ozpin; all these secret messages that kept pushing his plans into a different time frame than he wanted. They made him look crazy to everyone around him. To make matters worse, he refused to reveal anything about his whereabouts. If Rain found Ozpin he could hand over responsibility of the Soldiers to him. He didn't want to be the one to kill any of his team of they went rogue. He'd grown to think of them as friends, despite the fact that they were all almost irredeemable scumbags. He knew that most people didn't kill their friends themselves. Sadly, everyone he would think to hire to kill his team was already on the damn team!

As he crested the next dune he saw Blake dash into the slope of another one. "You can come out. It's just me. I need to give you some new instructions."

Blake stepped out hesitantly and he couldn't help but realize how attractive she was. Her usual clothes were concealed by a brown cloak that worked to conceal her in the desert and keep her cool. Somehow he was attracted to the idea of the unknown quantity under the cloak. Her fear of losing everything conveyed itself to the naked eye as shyness, which for some reason he liked. He didn't usually think of anyone like that. That teasing on the boat seemed to have caused some kind of mistake in his brain. He had originally meant to simply mess with her, but now he actually seemed to be considering her as a romantic interest. He needed to stop this soon: That path wasn't in his future. Only death waited for him. It had been that way forever.

"What 'new' instructions could you be giving me? The original instructions were pretty simple."

"Tonight I want you to get close enough to hear me and Yang talking. I'll ask her a question, and after she responds I want you to join us. The choice is up to you, but I would recommend you join us."

"I can't see her; she wouldn't want to see me. It would bring up too many bad feelings."

"Doesn't matter. If you ever want to reunite with her, you have to face those emotions. I might not experience most emotions, but I understand them. So trust me when I say that you should do this."

"I've known you for about a week and you haven't really given me anything to make me trust you. Why should I trust you on this? This is kind of an important thing."

"How about this? If you don't at least listen, I'll kill you and leave your corpse for the grimm."

Blake couldn't tell if he was joking, but she figured it was a good idea to assume he wasn't. "OK. I'll listen at least. I can't promise I'll join you two afterwards."

"That is all I ask. Thank you. Now I should probably head back. Yang might have started to worry. Probably not, but it's still nice to hope."

"Wait. What is your end goal in all this? Why do you want to reunite me and Yang? What are you getting out of it?"

"What do _I_ get out of making my sister happy? That is a tough question. Maybe I just think you two belong together."

"'Belong together'? What does that mean?"

"Whatever you want it to mean, Blake. Bye." With that he blurred and disappeared, leaving Blake alone among the dunes.

* * *

Night had fallen a few hours later and Rain had set up camp among a jumble of rocks they had come across. He had built a fire pit and was in the process of cooking a savoury-smelling stew. Yang was sitting on a boulder, keeping watch.

"Soup's on!" Rain shouted to her, "Come eat it before it gets cold."

Yang climbed down and accepted a bowl from Rain. They sat together in companionable silence until they had both finished their meal. Yang did the little bit of washing up that was needed, and they sat across from each other over the fire.

Rain seemed to make up his mind about something and looked at Yang. "I need you to answer a question for me, and I need you to tell me the absolute truth."

"What's the question? It sounds pretty important."

"If Blake were here right now, what would you say to her?"

Yang instantly went on the defensive, "Why? That isn't something _you_ need to know."

"Because I am your commander on this mission and you will do what I ask or I will send you home. Now answer the question."

"Well, I suppose I would tell her that I forgive her for running away. But I would also tell her that I don't understand it. I would tell her that she caused me terrible pain when she left and for the months after. I'd tell her that I wish we could go back to the way things used to be, but that that is impossible. That what she did can't ever be forgotten, but that I wish it could. I'd tell her that the pain of her leaving was like a hundred knives forced into my chest and twisted around until my organs were mush every single day, including today. Is that enough?"

Rain looked over her shoulder before he answered, "I don't know. Why don't you ask her?"

Yang stood up and slowly turned. She felt apprehensive. When she turned around she saw Blake with tears streaming down her face, "Blake? Why are you here?"

"Yang," Blake choked out between tears, "I'm so sorry. I thought I was helping you. I didn't... I didn't know. How could I ever make it up to you? What I've done is unforgivable." Blake fell to her knees and her body shook with great, heaving sobs.

Blake suddenly felt a certain large, blonde mass envelop her in a massive hug. She could feel tears dropping on to her shoulder. "You stupid kitten. You've already done it. You stayed and talked to me instead of running away. You have no idea what that means to me."

Blake and Yang stayed like that for awhile: kneeling, hugging, and crying. Eventually they were interrupted by the sound of Rain clearing his throat. "While this is all very beautiful and moving, I do have some things to discuss with the two of you."

Yang got up and turned towards him with tears of fire in her eyes, "You bastard!"

"That is factually accurate. Thank you for pointing that out."

"You found her! You kept her from me this entire time! All so you could play some kind of emotional mind game! Do I have that right?!" Yang was giving off so much heat that the sand under her was slowly turning to glass.

"Yuppers."

"I could kill you!"

"You could try, but we do have more pressing issues. Now sit down, shut up, and listen!"

Blake and Yang sat down together, across from Rain. Blake placed her hand over Yang's in an attempt to calm her down. "So. You're finally going to tell us everything we need to know?"

Rain burst out laughing, "Hahahaha. _Nobody_ gets the full story, Blake! _I_ don't even have all the info. I'm going to tell you everything you need to know _now_. What I reveal later will be piecemeal and it probably won't be very satisfactory. Moving on: our enemies are currently going after someone called a 'Maiden'. A maiden is basically a demigod and can use magic even with a depleted aura. There are four of them at any given time, but our enemies have already stolen the powers of one of them and are closing in on the second, who is based in Vacuo. Our job is to find, retrieve, and escort her back to the ship. After that I have an undisclosed location that the ship will take her to. It's also part of our job to kill their Maiden if we can. That power should _definitely_ not be in the hands of evil... no matter the cost."

"What happens to the power?"

"What?"

"The magic or whatever. What happens to it after we kill this... dark maiden?"

"Love that name. I think I might trademark it." Rain seemed to start zoning out.

Yang chucked a rock at him, "Rain! Question! Answer it!"

Rain shook himself back to the present, "Sorry. That happens sometimes. Ehrm." he cleared his throat, "To answer the question: It moves on to somebody else. Normally, it should be the last person in their thoughts. If that happens to be a man or an old woman, it goes to some random, young woman. It isn't entirely known _how_ the dark maiden stole the powers of the Fall maiden. I have a few pet theories, but nothing conclusive. As long as we can kill her though, it doesn't matter all that much. The power will find a new host and we'll just have to find them."

"Why does it have to move to a young woman? Why not a man?"

"A few reasons, all of them total bullshit. The power always goes to a woman because in the story it was originally given to four sisters. As far as I know, it has never chosen a male host. But with the dark maiden stealing the power it is possible a man could have the power. Why they always have to be young is not something we have a definitive answer for. The prevailing theory is that it has something to do with innocence. The older you get, the less innocent you are. The less innocent you are, the more liable you are to turn evil."

"So it could literally be _any_ young woman _anywhere_ in the world? There's no other process of determination? That seems odd."

"Well, we haven't found any other criteria yet, but it's magic that is thousands of years old: it isn't like there are a lot of people that even understand it, let alone anyone who can perform tests."

"Then it could transfer into one of us? And we actually might have a _better_ chance if we kill her? Is that what you're trying to tell us?"

"Yes. I'm telling you as a warning: If you receive the power and decide to turn dark, I will not hesitate to kill you."

"But I thought you were lower on the pecking order than a maiden." Yang finally spoke outside of a scream, "Qrow told me that."

"Technically he's right; in a fight against a maiden who has mastered her powers I would almost certainly die. However, it usually takes awhile for a maiden to get to that level. If you slip up in that time, I am still _very_ capable of killing you. Anymore questions, or can I get some shut-eye?"

"Yes, actually. It's something I've been wondering since we met, brother."

"Fire away."

"Why is your name Rain?"

Rain seemed to actually be nervous for once, "It's short for something. Why does it matter?"

"What is it short for?"

"It doesn't matter!"

"Hey! You know everything about me. I deserve to know this. Now tell me what Rain is short for. Please."

Rain mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that? Couldn't quite make it out."

"I said: 'It's short for... Rainbow."

Yang sat frozen, trying desperately not to laugh. Surprisingly it was Blake who burst out laughing and promptly fell over, rolling in the sand.

"That's it. I'm going on patrol. Have fun catching up while I keep your asses from getting eaten by grimm. And if I come back and find you making out, I will be extremely pissed."

Blake immediately ceased her laughter, "Why would we be making out?"

"Um, because Ozpin told me you two are partners. Isn't that the term people use now? I keep getting confused because society feels the need to change everything every few years."

"We're _fighting_ partners at Beacon. It's how teams are made. Partners are decided and then each group of partners finds a relic. Whoever chooses the matching relic becomes the other half of the team."

"Huh. That's stupid. What if you end up with people you can't work with?"

"I guess you learn to."

"Man am I glad I can never be a huntsman. It sounds _exhausting_. Much better to be a contract killer. Be safe." With that he disappeared into the night.

"Your brother is kind of weird."

"Yeah. But I think he's a good person. Almost like there could be something golden at the end of all his cynicism and pain." Yang had to hold back a giggle at her own joke.

Blake didn't seem to hear Yang. She was looking out past the boulders. "Hey Blake." Yang reached over and poked her partner on the cheek. "What's up? You look like you're a million miles away."

"Just thinking about what we're going to do once we get to Vacuo. Who we might see."

Yang scooted closer to her partner, "You're thinking about your monkey boy, aren't you?"

"I've never heard you call him that. It sounds kind of rude."

"Meh. It's what Rain calls him. I guess he must be rubbing off on me."

"I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing."

"I think it's somewhere in the middle."

* * *

 **A.N: Dialogue and emotions are hard to write/portray. I spent a long time agonizing over those in this chapter. Actually came close to scrapping it and starting over. But that feeling I got when I finally got it how I wanted? It was like nothing I could really describe. I think I finally get why people are able to speak with the passion that they do about the things they love. It was like an explosion of joy inside my brain. I really cannot describe it better than that.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Shade**

"So that's the capital of Vacuo?" Yang looked on in awe.

"Yep. No one can seem to figure out if this is natural or man-made, but it doesn't matter; it's probably the most easily defended of the kingdoms."

"And somewhere down there is the summer maiden?"

"That's the hope."

The capital city of Vacuo was situated in a massive, almost perfectly cylindrical, crater. Along the top was a ring of stone plateaus. In the bottom, several rivers streamed out of caves and away into other caves. The houses were primarily along the wall of the crater, but there were a few large buildings in the center surrounded by what looked to be warehouses.

Rising in the center was the huntsman academy. It was shaped like a gigantic tree. It had several balconies and landings all the way up the trunk. Right now most of it sat unused due to the recent spike in grimm activity. It seemed almost sad that such a beautiful place stood so empty. Although, the name made a lot more sense now.

"So do we start at a bar or something?" Yang inquired, "Get the lay of the land: that sort of thing?"

"I mean, yeah, we could do that. Or we could go directly to the huntsman academy and speak to the people there. After all, we look like hunters. We could just walk in and ask. We don't have to be covert about this part. We just need to find Sun."

"Why do we need to find Sun?" Blake asked with trepidation.

"Because I have absolutely no idea where my team members stationed here are, and we need some sort of local guide."

"But why does it have to be Sun?"

"Because he knows you two, and even likes one of you in the romantic sense. So if you don't have any more stupid questions, can we _please_ head into the city?"

"Jeez. Fine. No need to get angry."

"Sorry. I just get annoyed by overly simple questions." He started to walk down when he paused and turned back towards the two of them. "One more thing: the headmaster might look a bit familiar. Just wait for us to be done with him and then I'll explain."

* * *

Headmaster Kai slumped into his chair, exhausted after so many meetings with the local bureaucrats. All of them wanting this and that and failing to realize that they were on the verge of being overrun by grimm. They also seemed to be ignoring the obvious criminal element which had found its way into the city in the recent months. He wanted to slap all of them until they saw the truth right in front of their eyes. Only a bureaucrat could be so facetious as to ignore danger and focus on minutiae.

His intercom crackled to life, "Sir, you have more visitors. They claim to be more reinforcements from Vale. Should I let them in?"

Kai turned around in his chair and stared out the window. "Yeah, Derek. Send them in." He sighed and ran his hands through his blonde hair. Couldn't he have five minutes to himself? It seemed like everyone wanted to speak to him all the time these past few months.

He heard the door open and three sets of shoes clacked into his office. "What can I do for you, Hunters?" He said with his back still turned to them.

"Well," a voice that sent a chill down his spine answered, "you could get me a drink like a proper host. Oh, and we also need the current whereabouts of some other huntsmen."

Kai turned his chair around and was greeted by Rain's lopsided grin. He was flanked by two young women in desert travel gear; one blonde and one brunette. "Why are you here, Rain? Aren't you supposed to be tracking down those responsible for this current state of affairs or something? That's why you and your 'Soldiers' aren't dead, right?"

"Why so hostile, Kai? My team has individual assignments around Remnant. Ozpin made my job preemptive strikes; I have to prevent the other maidens from getting taken. Hence, I am here to track down the Summer Maiden. To do that, I need to borrow some of your huntsmen. Well, one, specifically."

"If it will get you out of my academy, fine. Get the information from my secretary and get out of my office."

"You don't even want to know who I need?"

"No. And frankly, I wish I didn't even know you were here."

"OK then. Ladies, let's leave this poor man to rest."

Kai sat back in his chair and looked out the window. When he saw that Rain and the two women had left, he pushed his intercom button, "Derek, who did the visitors wish to know about?"

"Let me see, sir." Sounds of typing could be heard for a few seconds, "They wanted to know the current location of one Sun Wukong. Is that what you needed, sir?"

Kai felt a chill pass down his spine, "Did they say why they wanted him?"

"No sir. They just wanted his locale. Should I have asked them?"

"No, Derek. You didn't do anything wrong. Just do your best to keep an eye on Mr. Wukong."

* * *

"That was easier than I thought it would be." Yang remarked as they left the academy, "One question though: Does everybody hate-slash-fear you?"

"Pretty much. Ironwood and Ozpin seem to like me. Everyone else finds me too abrasive and/or powerful. Most people wish Ozpin had killed me when I was a child. Or even that mom drowned me when I was born. Only Ozpin seems to see any worth in me. Ironwood just admires my 'ability to take action when needed'. I swear, that man is just as crazy as anyone on my team. Good man, though. He treated Penny as if she were a normal child too. I was sad to hear that she died. She was a nice girl."

"Wait. You knew Penny? How?"

"How did you think they transferred a soul into a machine?"

"You can move people's souls?" Blake spoke up, "How is that possible?"

"My semblance is aura manipulation. I can take all of your aura if I want to. That includes your soul. I simply took the soul out of an infant with a terminal illness and transferred it into Penny."

"But you told me that you never took someone's soul. Were you lying to me?" Yang demanded.

"Technically no. The child's parents consented to giving their child a new life as a robot that looked like a young teenager. That doesn't count as taking a soul. I just moved it between two vessels. It still hurt an incredible amount since a baby can't give me permission consciously. But I helped to create a new type of life. So I think it was worth it."

"Okay... So where is Sun supposed to be? I'd rather find him before night falls."

"We're in luck; the monkey is currently in town and is not very far away. Even at a slow walk, we should be at the monkey's current residence in-"

"Stop that!" Blake shouted at Rain.

Rain turned to her with one eyebrow raised, "Stop what?"

"Stop calling him a 'monkey'! He has a name!"

"Why does it matter what I call him?"

"Because calling him a monkey is borderline racist!"

"It's also factually accurate. Racism only applies if I mean it offensively. It's like calling a good friend an ass-hole. An insult becomes a term of endearment the better you know the person."

"But you _don't_ know him!"

"Fine! I'll stop calling him a monkey, okay?! Can we move on now?!"

It took them about fifteen minutes to reach Sun's current residence on the city wall. It was a two-story building carved out of the cliff.

"It looks empty." Yang pointed out.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious. I guess we'll just have to sit out here and wait for him to come back."

The three of them sat down underneath the main window to wait. After a few minutes Yang spoke up, "So why did mom name you Rainbow?"

For a minute it looked like Rain was about to freeze her right there. But he apparently thought better of it, "Because mom is an ass-hole."

"That's it? She's just an ass-hole. No other reason?"

"The real reason involves why she split us up and is not my story to share. And that is all I am going to say about it."

"Fine. Don't tell me. I'll just ask mom when we find her."

They sat for another few minutes before Yang spoke up again, "Is he here yet?"

* * *

It was dusk before they finally saw Sun climbing up to the house. He was scaling the cliff wall instead of walking the switchback trail. When he finally got up to their level he almost missed them and walked right into the house. Yang and Blake were in desert cloaks with the cowls up and he couldn't recognize them.

He leaned down, "Hello. Are you three okay?"

Rain stood up slowly, "Yes we are, thanks for asking. We've been waiting for you, Mr. Wukong. Where is the rest of your team, if I may ask?"

"They're out celebrating our latest successful mission. Excuse me: Who are you? Why are you outside my door?"

"Since you asked: I am Rain Branwen. To my left is my sister Yang Xiao Long. And to _her_ left is Blake Belladonna. I believe you might know them." Blake and Yang stood up and removed their hoods.

"Blake? Yang? What the hell are you doing in Vacuo?"

"I think we should go inside first. The topics we need to discuss are of a... sensitive nature; Best discussed behind closed doors, you know."

"They can come in. You can't. I don't know you. For all I know you kidnapped them to get to me so that you could kidnap me to get to my father."

"Please. We both know your father is an uncaring dick. If I wanted to get to him I could just walk into his office."

Sun turned to Blake and Yang, "Can you vouch for him?"

Yang just nodded. Blake refused to meet Sun's eyes. She seemed very much like she wanted to run.

"Okay. I guess you can come in too." Sun unlocked the door and held it open as they filed in.

* * *

Cinder looked down on the small group entering the modest house. She felt fear course through her veins. _The blonde brawlers were_ here.

She immediately pulled out her scroll and punched in the number of Adam Taurus.

After three rings he finally picked up, "Who is this and how did you get my number?"

"Oh, Adam. Is that any way to speak to the woman who helped you conquer Beacon?"

"How dare you contact me after that disaster!"

"Calm down, Adam. I have a peace offering for you. I know you're in Vacuo because this call went through. What if I were to tell you that Blake and her blonde friend are here too. As well as Blake's current boy toy."

There was a long pause on the other end. Followed by: "I would say that our partnership could be mutually beneficial again. What do you want in exchange?"

"There is a blonde man with them. I want you to kill him, Blake's friend, and her boy toy."

"I think that can be arranged."

* * *

In the mosaic cave the pale figure stared at the changing portion. Suddenly, they noticed some of the possibilities were no longer appearing. The future had been narrowed again and it was only a matter of time before the final course was chosen.

* * *

 **A.N: So this chapter was just an attempt at set up. Did it work? I'm not 100% sure.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Let's get that plot moving**

Sun pulled the shutters on the windows closed and lit a candle on the dining room table. The four of them took up seats around the table. Rain chose to sit across from Sun. Blake sat to his left and Yang sat to his right.

"So who are you and how did you find me?" Sun asked in a terse voice. "Because I still don't fully trust you. Even though you managed to reunite these two." He gestured to Blake and Yang.

"I've answered that question truthfully more times in the past few weeks than in the past five years. Like I said, I am Rain Branwen: Son of Raven Branwen and Taiyang Xiao Long; brother to Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose. I was trained, at least partially, by Ozpin himself. I lead a secret team put together to fix the world once something like this current situation happened. I was actually a contract killer for a little bit; it payed the bills.

"I found you by walking into your father's office and asking for the location of a specific huntsman. He didn't even ask who I wanted; he just wanted me out of his office. I spoke to his secretary, and he pointed me here."

"Wait." Yang spoke up, "The headmaster is Sun's father?"

"Yes. Although I think the tale is best left to Sun to tell."

They all turned to look at Sun. He sighed and sat up straighter in his chair, "My parents were an outspoken anti-faunus activist and a faunus waitress. He got drunk one night and slept with my mother. In the morning, once he'd realized what had happened, he fled. He tried to forget that night but my mother wouldn't let him. You see, he had left something behind that night: something _alive_. He sent my mother a decent amount of money every month until I left for Haven. He's the reason I went to Haven over Shade; I couldn't stand to learn from someone who had abandoned his own child."

Blake and Yang sat in shock at what they had just been told. Finally Yang spoke up, "Wow. That is really messed up. I don't know what else to say."

"There's nothing _to_ say, Yang." Rain spoke without taking his eyes off Sun, "Sometimes people are shitty. There's nothing you can do. But that isn't why we're here." He addressed Sun directly now, "I need your help to find a specific huntress. She isn't registered in the system, but you would still probably know her. I was never given her name, but I do know what she looks like. I also know what her weapons are. Do you think that will be enough to go on?"

"Maybe. I've only been back a few months, after all. Although I do need to know her description to help you."

"Right. Sorry. She's about six feet tall with blonde hair and pale skin. Her favoured clothing is a hooded, blue cloak with gold clasps and an orange tunic with beige pants: no armour. She uses a dust broadsword and shield. The sword uses fire dust and the shield uses earth. Her cloak is also infused with air dust. She would also be a loner. She might have taken up residence in the shady part of town or she might not even be in the capital. She would tend to avoid flashy jobs and would go for solo jobs as well."

Sun started to laugh. It started out low and built until he was practically howling with laughter.

Blake reached out her hand to touch his. "What's funny, Sun? Do you know this woman?"

"Yeah, hehe, you could say that. She taught me practically everything I know."

"So you know where she lives?"

"Yes I do. But I need to know exactly why you want her. Otherwise, you can forget about my help."

"Can't." Rain immediately responded.

"Just tell him!" Yang spoke up. "It's not like it will change anything."

Rain seemed to struggle for a reason not to tell Sun. Finally he looked up, "Fine! I guess we'll just tell every random stranger we happen to run in to!" He then proceeded to inform Sun about the Maidens and the threat of the Dark Maiden.

When he was finished, Sun slumped down in his chair. "Wow. So Jas is some kind of superhuman? That...actually makes a lot of sense now that I think about it."

"So her name is Jas? Tell me more."

"Jas -short for Jasmine- is an out-lands huntress. She doesn't often step into the city. She prefers to do the jobs nobody else can get to. When I was a kid she saved my life... a lot. I used to live in a pretty remote village. She would often stop in the village to check for jobs and check on the people. She would leave some money for the town in case of an emergency; she always said that she didn't need it."

"So she doesn't live _in_ a particular town?"

"No. She has a hidden base in a system of caves in the dessert south of here. She gave most of her money to the villages and towns struggling to survive. I used to try following her to see a real huntress in action. One day, I went out too far from the village. Before I knew it, a King Taijitu had erupted from the dunes. I would have been dead if Jas hadn't heard it and come to investigate.

"After that, she started to teach me some things about how to fight and stuff. I became her apprentice and she became my mentor. She even helped me make my gun-chucks when it came time for me to build a weapon. I technically never even went to a primary battle school; all my training was out in the wild with Jas. When I left for Haven, Jas was pretty broken up. She told me to watch out for my team and make her proud. Then she just vanished. I haven't seen her since I got back."

"Well, that is a _fascinating_ story. But I really just needed to know the location of her base. I didn't need to know your life story. So where exactly is it? Because 'south' is not a useful set of directions."

"You're not going there without me."

"Sure thing. Get some sleep tonight and we'll head out at dawn." Rain got up and moved toward the door.

"Wait. What do I tell my team?"

"Bring them with us. Extra manpower never hurt anyone. But don't tell them everything. Please. The knowledge I just shared with you _is_ technically confidential and I would be well within my rights to kill anyone who reveals it."

"Okay then. But where are you going?"

Rain slid on his grimm mask, "I'm going to find some _real_ fighters." With that he left the building.

Sun turned to look at Yang. "Hey, Yang."

"What's up?"

"Your brother is a dick."

"Yes. Yes he is."

* * *

Rain strolled through the more seedy part of town. He wasn't even really paying attention to where he was going; he was just hoping his teammates would reveal themselves.

As he turned down a particularly dark alley, he was suddenly surrounded. They were all White Fang grunts, he could tell. One of them stepped forward and spoke up, "You will come with us, interloper."

"Nope. I will not be going with you, defiler."

"Who are you to call me a defiler? You wear our masks but have never been through our suffering. We should cut you down where you stand for such an affront."

"That would be fun to see. Unfortunately, I don't have time for this. And I call you a defiler because you have defiled the meaning of these masks. They once stood for strength, honour, sacrifice, courage, selflessness. But you have twisted them in an attempt to make yourselves terrifying to the common man. You have **never** known true suffering. You have known cruelty, yes. But not suffering. You are not superior to people who were cruel to you. You're just a whole bunch of new cruel people. You used to be peaceful, if memory serves. Why would you abandon that?"

"Peace got us nowhere. Conflict has allowed us to affect change."

"Change is not swift. True change comes slowly. It takes work. You are just lazy bullies with not enough brain power to see what is right in front of your eyes. Now die!"

An explosion of ice and energy could be seen from the alley mouth, followed by a cloud of smoke. When that cleared, Rain stood among a circle of dead bodies with shattered grimm masks.

"Holy shit, boss. Do you think you may have gone a bit far? They were just grunts, after all." A deep, masculine voice spoke from above Rain.

"You know my opinion of these scum. If you really didn't want them dead, you could have tried to stop me."

The voice's owner jumped nimbly down to the alley, "I just got here, and we both know I can't stop you."

"That's true, but you could still try. It's good to see you, Banner. Where's Flare? I need both of you."

"She's back at our hideout. I came alone just in case it was someone who could kill me. If I don't get back in an hour, she'll send a message to our 'special' transmitter. So why are you visiting us? Did you figure out Vale's issues already?"

"I solved all the big problems. Ozpin's remaining staff can sort out the rest. I'm actually looking for one of Ozpin's allies in Vacuo right now who might be able to help us. I already established a local contact and tracked her down. I just need your help with the extraction. Things could go sideways and I don't need that right now."

"Okay, boss. Do you want to come back to the hideout with me?"

"No, I should back to where I'm currently staying. If I'm not there they might get themselves killed or something."

"Got it, boss. I'll tell Flare that you're in town. She'll be excited to see you."

"You guys always are. It's like you're hoping I'll release you from your deals or something. Now goodbye." Rain blurred and disappeared.

* * *

"Fuck." Rain whispered under his breath.

When he got back to the house, the door was ajar. He walked up quietly and listened. All he could hear was one person's ragged breathing.

Rain pushed open the door and stepped through. Inside, everything was how he'd left it. Except for the blue-haired boy currently bleeding out in the corner.

Rain rushed over to him and crouched down. "I assume you're Neptune."

The boy coughed up some blood. "Yeah. And I assume you're Rain."

"Correct, but let's skip the pleasantries. What happened here, Neptune?"

"I was the last to head back here tonight. When I got to this level on the wall, I was jumped by some White Fang members. They marched me here, kicked in the door, and threatened to kill me if the others didn't submit. They did. Then the bastards stabbed me in the gut and told me to wait for you."

"Dammit! How did they know I was here? Why would they leave you alive for me to find?"

"Because they told me where they were going. They want you to go. They said they were told to kill you."

"That's not uncommon. But where are they?"

"In the warehouse district there is a large, black warehouse with no windows. They're camped out in there, apparently."

"Did they say anything else?"

"Just that it was going to be fun torturing my team. Can you promise me something?"

"Sure."

"When you find them, rip them to shreds. Break them so that they never regroup. And maybe torture a few while you're at it."

"Deal."

"Thanks. Now I guess I'll continue to slowly die by bleeding out."

"I can make it quicker. I can absorb all your aura that's left and that would kill you."

"Nah. I'll just sit here. Go get those sons-of-bitches."

Rain stood up and walked outside. Once he was a good distance from the house he pulled out his scroll, "Hey. It's me. I need you at the black, windowless warehouse in that district. I wouldn't call if it wasn't important. Fine. Be like that." Rain ended the call and set off toward the warehouse district.

* * *

 **A.N: I guess people needed to start dying. Why not Neptune? It's not like he's in a boring quasi-relationship with a member of team RWBY or anything. All kidding aside. I needed to kill somebody and Neptune was the only one I could think to use. Scarlet and Sage don't have enough character to take this spot and Sun deserves a more momentous death. So I guess Neptune drew the short straw. I wonder if anyone is still reading this.**

 **Also, I just realized that I've been using desert instead of dessert this entire time. Please forgive me. I will make sure it doesn't happen again.**


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Shit Went Down**

Yang felt the grunts trying her to a chair. Once they made sure the ropes were _very_ tight, the bag was removed from her head and she met with complete darkness.

"I know you're there, assholes. Why don't you show yourselves. I promise I won't bite you."

Suddenly she felt a sharp blow to the back of her head. She saw stars and fell forward in the chair a bit.

A voice from behind her spoke, "You will speak when spoken to, _human_." The last word was said in a sneer, as if it were an insult.

A voice spoke out of the darkness in front of her, "Now now, Adam. There is no need for violence. After all, she's the bait." Lights burst on at the voice's last word. What they revealed filled Yang with dread. "And this is the trap."

An army of White Fang soldiers armed to the teeth lined the walls and twelve paladins stood at the back wall. The voice was coming from speakers that stood about twenty feet away. Above them sat a monitor.

All of a sudden the monitor flared to life and Cinder appeared on it. She was sitting in a leather armchair and she was holding a cup of tea. "Hello, Yang. It's nice to formally meet for the first time. Unfortunate that this couldn't be done in person, but I can't take the chance that your other friend could kill me. Even with all those soldiers in there, I felt caution was necessary."

"So you're in Vacuo, too? You won't find the maiden. I hope you know that."

"That's what your other friends said, too. We've already discerned that the humans didn't know anything. They were disposed of for wasting our time. The faunus, however. Now there lies the information we seek. The White Fang's...professionals are retrieving this information as we speak."

"Sun would die before he told _you_!"

"Oh, by the end he will wish he was dead. But I'm rather curious about a few things that I think you might know."

"Good luck."

"I know that _you_ won't break to torture. But to protect a friend," suddenly Blake was wheeled out strapped to a chair, with a gun to her head, "I think you would do anything I ask. Do we understand each other?"

"You bitch! I'll kill you!"

"I'm not hearing a yes. I'll kill her in five seconds if you don't say it. Five. Four. Three-"

"Yes! Just stop threatening her!"

"See, Yang. I knew we could be civil about this. Now onto my first question: Who is the blonde man you are travelling with?"

* * *

"That is a very fantastical tale you wish me to believe. And yet, I feel inclined to believe you. Especially the part about your brother; nobody would invent someone like that and claim to be their twin. Now, about the maidens-"

A grunt burst into the room and ran over to the monitor. He bowed to Cinder and began to speak.

"Ma'am. I apologize, but there is someone here to see you."

"Who could be so important that you would interrupt _me_?!"

"Roman Torchwick is outside."

A tense silence fell over the room. No one moved and Cinder just froze with a look of utter confusion plastered on her face.

"What?" Cinder asked, drawing out the single syllable.

"I don't know how, ma'am, but Mr. Torchwick is outside the warehouse right now."

"Bring him in."

The grunt ran out of the room and returned moments later with, what appeared to be, Roman Torchwick. As he strode in Cinder's jaw dropped for a second, before it returned to its usual serene grace.

"Roman. How extraordinary to see you again. Although I must ask: when did you become a woman?"

Yang looked closer and she realized that "Roman" was most definitely not male. His ample bosom should have given it away.

"Well," The female Roman spoke for the first time, "I must admit that I am not actually Roman. Although I am his sister. I represent the Soldiers and I have come to bargain for the lives of the three humans and two faunus who you captured tonight. Although I really hope that this," she pointed to Blake and Yang, "isn't all that is left. The man I am bargaining for would not be particularly happy if that were the case."

"I can assure you that the other faunus is still alive. The other two humans, though... they weren't so lucky. Collateral damage, as they say. You understand, right?"

"I understand you perfectly. However, my contractor has said that any and all life taken must be repaid ten times over."

As she finished speaking, twenty grunts along the left wall started struggling for air and scratching at their throats. Within a minute all twenty lay dead on the ground after having suffocated.

"I hope this will prove to you that these negotiations are merely a courtesy on our part. We could take them back by force, but would rather avoid more unnecessary bloodshed."

"I could still have you killed before you were able to kill everyone in the room. That whole building is wired to explode and I have the trigger."

"So we are at an impasse."

"So it seems. Allow me to make a call and I will see what can be done about resolving this."

"Of course. I'll give you five minutes before I kill another thirteen."

Cinder walked off the screen for a few minutes. When she returned she seemed mildly perturbed, "It has been decided that you can have those who remain alive returned to you. Adam, go get the boy."

Yang heard Adam curse under his breath and then he walked off behind her. She heard a door open and slam. A few minutes later he returned. As he came into view, she could see he was dragging Sun behind him.

Sun was a mess. His face was a bunch of blood, cuts, and bruises. His shirt was stained with dried blood and his medallion was now covered in the stuff.

Adam pulled him to his feet and held him up by the collar.

"Thank you for returning him. Now, if you will just untie the other two we can be on our way."

"I don't think so. Now!"

At the sound of her shout, a lieutenant grabbed the air in front of him and started struggling with it. He eventually wrestled it to the ground. "I've got him, ma'am."

"Now that I have your silent killer captured, I think it's time to renegotiate. Don't you?"

The she-Roman seemed startled for a brief moment. And then she did something very strange: she smiled. Just a little smirk. But enough to seriously disturb all the White Fang present, as well as Cinder.

"What is there for you to smile about? You're surrounded. Your only bargaining chip has been disabled. Why are you smiling?"

"Because now it's a challenge."

"Is _this_ a challenge, you simpering fool? Adam, kill the boy!"

Before anybody could react, Adam drew his sword and rammed it through Sun's heart. He then sliced downwards and out of the torso, effectively cutting the heart in half.

Roman's sister seemed to be the only one not taken aback by this. She merely rubbed the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh.

"Now you've done it." she said, "Now you get to deal with my boss."

As she spoke, she took out a small device from her jacket and placed it on the ground. A hologram of Rain appeared above the device. Yang couldn't see his face from where she was sitting, but she could _feel_ the unrestrained rage coming off him.

"So you're the man in charge?" Cinder asked him, "How nice to meet you. I now have all of your friends in my custody. How do you wish to proceed?"

"You should thank whatever gods exist that you aren't actually here right now. Let me give you a taste of what I am capable of." His hologram raised it's arm and a bolt of lightning arced from it to the monitor, causing it to explode.

He then turned to address all the White Fang present, "I cannot guarantee you mercy after what has happened here today. But the odds will be better for you if you tie up your boss and leave him in your interrogation room. Then leave your weapons on the ground and exit the building in single file with your hands above your heads. If you do all of that, I might let you live. That's my offer. Take it or leave it. Either way, I am going to be in that room in ten minutes and everyone inside who I don't like will die an excruciatingly painful death." After that the hologram fizzed out.

Everyone in the room nervously looked at each other, hoping someone else knew what to do. Adam seemed to be ready to flee at the drop of a hat. Nobody actually did anything though. Everyone just wasted their time, staring and weighing their options.

After ten minutes exactly had elapsed, people started to notice a temperature drop emanating from the wall with all the paladins along it. Before anyone could do anything, the wall exploded inwards, crushing the paladins with debris. The dust hung in the air for a bit until it was swept aside by a chill wind. Rain stood in front of the rubble with lightning bolts and ice flows arcing around him. He looked like an ancient god of wrath, come to purge the land of those he deemed evil.

Adam moved to run, but Rain was already in front of him. He picked Adam up by the throat and held him there. After a few seconds, Adam started screaming and Rain started grinding his teeth. Yang understood what was happening; Rain was stealing Adam's aura and, by extension, his soul.

Yang would have let him do it, but she knew what that would cost him. He would cross a line that couldn't be uncrossed. So she shouted, "RAIN! STOP! NOW!"

And like that, he stopped. He dropped Adam to the ground and stepped back, looking dazed.

The air held by the lieutenant took this opportunity to struggle away from it's captor, who promptly started choking to death.

Roman's sister just casually looked at all the remaining grunts and simply said, "Run if you want to live."

The grunts didn't need to be told twice. They all dropped their guns and ran.

Rain just stared at Adam as he lay, writhing in pain, on the ground. He then bent over and froze him solid.

Roman's sister walked over to Yang and cut her loose. "Hello, ma'am. My name's Flare. Sorry about your friend." She then walked over and cut Blake's bonds. Blake just slumped to the floor, unable to comprehend what she had just seen.

Rain picked up Sun's body and started walking towards the center of the city. Flare followed him and Yang supported Blake as they followed suit.

* * *

Kai sat in his office, pondering what Rain could have possibly called him about. He was the last person Rain would have asked for help. That was why he had taken so much satisfaction in saying no. But after about an hour, he had started to grow concerned. After all, he was responsible for the safety of Vacuo's citizens.

While he sat and pondered, he suddenly heard his secretary's raised voice from outside, "I'm sorry, sir, but you can't go in. Certainly not like-"

Whatever he had been about to say was cut short as the door's were kicked open. Rain walked in and lay a dead faunus in front of Kai's desk.

"What is the meaning of this?! You have gone too far this time, Rain. How dare you walk into my office an-"

"He's your son."

Rain had spoken the words in a whisper, but the weight of them was enough to cancel anything and everything else.

"What? You've got to be kidding. I don't have a son. And if I did, he certainly wouldn't be a faunus."

"I know everything, Kai. _Everything_. This is your son. This is the reason I asked you to help. With your semblance, you could have walked right in and gotten him out without anyone knowing. But you had to ignore me just because you hate me. Well take a good look. This is what your hate has brought about: Your only family is now dead. And you never even admitted he was yours. You. Sicken. Me." with that, Rain turned and marched out of Kai's office.

After a few minutes, Kai walked over and knelt beside the body. He opened Sun's medallion to find a picture of his mother, as beautiful as the day they had met. Kai held the medallion in his fist and wept. He wept for the son he would never get to know, and he wept for the woman he had let slip away.

* * *

 **A.N: Boom. Told you Sun's death would be more momentous. I cared so little about Sage and Scarlet that I killed them off screen, like I said. They don't even get the Neptune treatment. Just dead. Not that it's their fault. They just didn't seem that interesting in the actual show. So I had them killed. It's so fun to kill characters.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Fore-word: So, apparently, it wasn't clear what happened to Adam in the last chapter. Allow me to clarify: When I said that Rain froze him solid, I meant that he was literally frozen solid. He wasn't encased in ice; He is dead. He is essentially an ice sculpture of a raging psychopath. I hope that clears things up.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: I have no name for this chapter. Make one up yourselves. I'm going to bed**

Rain felt drained. His entire life he had never felt anything stronger than disdain. It had been one of his greatest assets on missions. But at the warehouse he had felt a cocktail of emotions so strong that he had almost crossed his final line. All because he had allowed himself to care about others. He desperately needed to sort this out. Otherwise, he might be convinced to stray from his path and sacrifice the many to save the few.

As he walked through the hideout's front door, he was bear-hugged by a precocious red-head.

"Rain! You're back! Did you miss me?"

"No." He picked Flare up by the collar and dropped her to the floor. After a quick look around, he noticed that Blake was missing from the room. Yang was eating pizza on a couch and Banner was refilling his syringes.

He looked down at Flare, "Where's Blake? If you let her run off I _will_ hurt you."

"Is that a promise?" Flare said seductively until she saw the look on his face. He was done with everybody's shit today. "She's sitting on the roof, pining after her dead boyfriend. The blonde went up to check on her earlier. When she came down she punched a whole in the wall."

"Thanks." Rain swept by her to the fridge, grabbed a six-pack, and headed up the stairs.

* * *

Blake didn't turn around when she heard the door open. "Go away, Yang. I don't need sympathy."

"No." said a voice she hadn't expected, "But you do need a drinking buddy." Rain sat down next to her and popped open two bottles with his bare hands, passing one to her. She couldn't help but notice how soft and smooth his hands were as she accepted the bottle.

"You aren't wearing your gauntlets. I've never seen you take them off." She said as she took a deep swig.

"Nah. Tonight is safe. We broke the White Fang and Cinder should be sufficiently scared enough to not try anything. After all, I blasted her through a hologram."

"How did you do that, by the way?"

I actually programmed the hologram generator to release that bolt of electricity when I pressed a hidden switch. It was very theatrical, though."

"I'll say. And your entrance after that? Pure terror. I actually peed a little."

"Yeah. I would take that as a compliment if I had meant to do that."

"Hmm? You didn't mean to look like a storm god who had come to wreak terrible destruction on the unsuspecting village folk? Well kudos for not even trying."

"The truth of that moment was that I had a actually gone into a blind rage. When I was sucking Adam's aura, I fully intended to take his soul."

"It's a good thing Yang stopped you."

"Yeah. Yang stopped me alright."

Blake sensed something odd in his tone, but the alcohol was already effecting her and she ignored it. She went to take another drink and realized she was out. "Another, garshon."

"Sure, Blake. Another beer for the drunk house cat." He popped another one and held it out to her. Once again she was amazed by how someone so rough could have such smooth hands.

"Thank you for drinking with me." she said a little sheepishly, "I didn't know how much I needed this."

"No problem. I've helped my uncle through a similar situation before. Albeit, he attempted to kill me afterwards. But what's the point of family if you can't forgive them?"

"Your uncle tried to kill you? How the hell did that come about?"

"Well, it all started during the mission. We were sent to clear out a pack of alphas-"

* * *

"And so I brought up the moment when he shrieked in the cave. Next thing I know, I'm flat on my back with a scythe pressed to my neck. Needless to say, he decided _not_ to kill me that night."

Blake let out a long laugh, "And you were twelve when this happened?"

"Twelve-and-a-half."

"And your uncle let a twelve-year-old drink with him? Isn't that a bit irresponsible?"

"That's my uncle for you: Incredibly bad-ass and incredibly irresponsible. I should get him a t-shirt that says that."

"Well I never really had any extended family to begin with. So I wouldn't know how to deal with that."

"You must have been pretty lonely growing up."

"Yeah, it was. There were other kids, sure. But nobody I felt close to."

Rain seemed to accept and process this new information. After a few minutes he opened his mouth to speak. "Blake, can I be honest with you about something?"

"I probably won't remember it tomorrow, so fire away."

"In the warehouse, when I was stealing Adam's soul, it wasn't Yang that stopped me."

"But what else could it have been? She shouted loud enough to raise the dead."

"The shouting broke me out of my rage for a second. True. But it wasn't what kept me from taking his soul."

"Then what was it?"

"It was you, Blake. I saw the look on your face while I was draining him. You should have been thrilled that he was getting his just desserts. He killed your boyfriend, cut off your partners arm, and partially destroyed the only real home you've ever had.

"But you weren't thrilled. You were mortified. Not because of what he had done, but because of the pain he was being forced through. You understood the rightfully-deserved hell he was going through and wanted to help him. Seeing that you could see the man inside the beast broke me out of my rage permanently."

"Why would that effect you so much?"

"Because no one has ever been able to see the man inside the beast that is me. And Adam was even more unforgivable than I am. So, if someone like you could see that for him, I figured maybe there was hope for me. One day."

Blake couldn't properly process all he had just said; she had drunk most of the six-pack on her own. But she could understand the feelings behind the words. And in her alcohol addled state, she did something she would normally have never done. She leaned in and kissed him.

As far as kisses go, it wasn't overly impressive. His lips were rough, she was pretty drunk, and there was the ever so slight fact that he wasn't kissing her back.

She felt his hands come up and pull her face away from his. He looked her deep in the eyes.

"Blake, I can't do this right now. It isn't that you aren't attractive. You are. But you're also drunk and emotionally unstable right now. It would be taking advantage of you if I kissed you back. I have to do the right thing here."

"So if I wasn't drunk then you'd kiss me back?"

"In a heartbeat."

"Then can you hold me? It's cold up here and I feel sleepy."

She leaned into him and yawned. He wrapped his arms around her and gazed out over the streets of Vacuo. After several minutes he realized that Blake was asleep. Oddly enough she seemed to be vibrating as well. At first he thought she was cold, but he eventually figured out it was purring.

* * *

"So you work for Rain?" Yang had got up from the couch and was sitting across from Banner.

"Technically we work for Ozpin. But Rain is the next person in the chain of command after Ozpin. With Ozpin gone, Rain is in charge."

"And you used to be a criminal?"

"That's a way of putting it. I was known as 'The Ghost of the Dessert'. My semblance gives me almost perfect invisibility except for a slight shimmer if you're looking for it. I would always kill my targets while they traversed the dessert. Even if they saw the shimmer, they would assume it was just caused by the heat. If they were taking an airship, I would just sneak aboard and crash it partway through the flight."

"If you can turn invisible then how did Ozpin catch you?"

"He tricked me. He paid me to take out a target in a specific place. When I arrived, aura sensors were triggered and a cage fell from the ceiling. Then he gave me a choice: Get sent to trial where I would most likely get the death sentence or I could use my talents for the greater good. I didn't feel like dying, so I accepted his offer. Been killing only bad guys ever since."

"So what's with the syringes? Why do you use them?"

"It's left over from my 'Ghost' days. The chemical inside disappears within three minutes and causes death within two. My usual process was to drug the pilot and co-pilot and then parachute out of the plane. If I was in the dessert it was even easier because the sand would hide the bodies quickly. Most of my targets were never recovered."

"Smart. Very smart."

"It's lazy is what it is." Flare suddenly spoke up from the couch. "Taking down a target in the middle of a crowd and then making the body disappear? Now that takes skill."

"I guess. It just seems like too much work, in my opinion. Use what you have at your disposal, is all I'm saying."

"And all I'm saying, Banner, is: shut up."

Yang turned to Flare, "So what's your story? You're Roman's sister?"

"Yeah. That skeezball was my brother. Wasn't sorry to hear he was dead; he was always kind of a dick just because he got mom's business and I had to settle for dad's."

"What did your parents do?"

"Funny story. My dad was an assassin for _very_ high profile targets. Mom was a kingpin of crime. Dad was hired to kill her but fell in love at first sight. He walked right up to her, told her he had been hired to kill her, and offered to kill his employer. She was so charmed by how ballsy he was that they got married a month later. My brother was always more inclined towards crime that involved having backup and I preferred to work alone. He always looked down on me because my job was higher risk for less reward. But guess who's still alive, Roman? I mean, who gets eaten while monologuing? That was his own damn fault. Adios, ass-hole."

"You really feel nothing about your brother being dead?"

"Nope."

"Wow."

"You know, you ask a lot of questions. But you haven't told us anything. Like, for instance, what you did to join our little group of fiends? Rain had to have recruited you after the Vytal disaster. So what did you do? Kill a bunch of innocent civilians because nobody would be able to really tell anyway? No need to be ashamed; we've all done it before."

"Rain didn't tell you? I'm his twin."

Flare and Banner both spit out their beers. "WHAT?!" They shouted simultaneously.

"Impossible!" Flare shouted.

"Unthinkable." Banner said to himself.

"The truth."

Everyone turned to see Rain at the bottom of the stairs, holding Blake wrapped up in his coat.

"A truth I had intended to keep secret, but I guess it's out now. As long as it's out there: She was also in training at Beacon before this. And this is her partner." He indicated Blake's sleeping form. "Now before everyone gets all excited, where is a free bedroom? I need to leave her somewhere."

"How'd she get so tired? She was just fine when I was up there."

"She might have been physically fine, but she was absolutely drained emotionally. The alcohol lowered her guard and allowed her emotions to rise to the surface. Unfortunately she'll have a bit of a hang-over in the morning."

"East hallway, third right has a free bed." Banner said while tinkering with his weapon brace.

"Thanks. All three of you, get ready. We're leaving to go check out the location Sun gave us before Cinder can get there."

"What makes you so sure she knows where it is?"

"Because she wouldn't have ordered Sun killed unless she had already gotten what she wanted. Now it's just a race to the target."

* * *

As the bullhead streaked south they all felt nervous. Yang was worried that Cinder would kill them all, Rain was afraid they'd be too late, and Flare and Banner were worried that their boss had kept such a big secret about his family from them.

After half-an-hour, they saw a plume of smoke on the horizon. They steered towards it and soon landed. What they saw was terrifying.

They had landed amid a grouping of rocks that jutted up out of the dessert. In the center was evidence of an incredible battle. Boulders had been almost completely shattered and the the ground had been turned to solid glass by the sheer heat that had been unleashed. In the center of the glass was an unmoving, blue-cloaked body.

Banner went invisible and walked up to check on the body. After a few minutes, he reappeared in front of them.

"She has no pulse, her face is covered in some kind of black goo, and I could _feel_ that her aura was gone, almost like somebody ripped it out of her. But only you can do that, captain."

"No. There's a species of grimm that is capable of 'eating' someone's aura. If manipulated properly, i can be used to move the aura from one person into another. It leaves behind that black goo you saw. Were her weapons with her?"

"I found an ancient looking sword and shield embedded in some boulders on the other side of the blast zone."

"Well, it isn't a total loss. I'm sure we can find _some_ use for those."

"Cap, it's just us. You don't have to contain yourself."

Rain just looked up to the sky and screamed: " **FUCK!** "

"Feel better?"

"A little bit. Thanks, Banner."

"Anytime. Do you want me to retrieve those weapons?"

"Yeah. We'll start on the grave."

After an hour of them digging constantly, they had made a grave for the Summer Maiden. They lowered her into it and covered her up. Rain then built a pile of stones atop her grave and put a chunk of glass on top.

"It's so people can find this place as a safe haven through the dessert. She probably would have wanted that."

"Is anyone going to say any last words?" Yang spoke into the ensuing silence.

"None of us knew her. We wouldn't know what to say."

"Okay, I guess."

"Let's head back. We need to head to Mistral next."

"Hold up." Flare said as they all started walking towards the bullhead. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell us what's going on. We deserve that."

"No, you don't. You're a former assassin, Flare. If Ozpin hadn't caught you, you still would be. I don't trust you with something this big. If you want out of the Soldiers, that's fine. But you know what the way out is. And I don't think you're willing to go there just yet."

Flare looked like she was ready to kill Rain, but Banner walked up and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, Flare. He's right; out of all the Soldiers, he's the only one who hasn't killed innocents. We would be dead by now if it weren't for him. Pick your battles."

"Fine." she went to get on the bullhead, "But this isn't over, Rain. You _will_ tell me what we're doing eventually."

* * *

 **A.N: So I shipped them. It was not my intention to do this, but I eventually realized that I could make a better ending than I had planned, but I needed him to love someone. Also, It just kind of happened. I think they make a good pair. Both are very strong-willed people who freak out when their friends are in trouble. Please let me know your thoughts on this. Did it come out well? Or did it feel forced or untrue to the characters in some way. I mean, I'm still kind of revealing Rain's character to you people. So you wouldn't really know if it was untrue to him. But what about Blake? Do you think she would have done this? Someone please tell me it wasn't bad. I hate the fics that just kind of force ships down your throat. I felt I built this up well, but you guys might think it's utter garbage. Who knows. I'm going to bed. Hopefully see some comments when I wake up.**

 **One more thing. I have no personal experience with getting drunk. So, that part of the chapter was written based on what I have seen in movies and t.v. If it came across oddly, that is why.**

 **Another thing. I am working at a camp over the summer and might not have a lot of time to write. Do not fret, as I have a few chapters in the bank. However, I might have trouble finding time to post the chapters on schedule. I also only have a few chapters in the bank, so if I exhaust those, it might be a longer wait. Sorry, but that is life.**


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Not sure if this would fall under Supernatural Aid or Meeting with the Goddess**

Blake arose slowly out of her alcohol-induced nap. As soon as she did, though, she regretted it. A pounding headache was the first thing that greeted her, followed immediately by an overwhelming urge to vomit.

Before she could vomit all over the bed, a bucket was swung in front of her. She grabbed it and proceeded to hurl her guts out.

When she was done, she looked up and saw Rain leaning against the wall.

"Bathroom's three doors down and on the left. Can you make it yourself?"

She tried to sit up on the bed, but was pushed down again by a splitting headache. She could only groan in pain and curl up into a ball.

Suddenly, she felt Rain pick her up and carry her out of the room and down the hall. She felt comfortable in his arms and attempted to burrow into him.

"You know the vomit residue around your mouth is now on my shirt, right?"

"Sorry. My head feels like it's being broken open from the inside and you feel comfy."

"Yeah. That's one of the symptoms of a hangover. Everything will feel better after a cold shower."

"Noooo. I'm a cat. We hate water. Let me down." She tried to punch him, but she was too weak to actually do anything.

"Too bad, kitty-cat. One day you'll thank me for it."

Rain got to the bathroom, set Blake down in the shower stall, and blasted the cold water on. Before she could bolt, he slammed the door and leaned into it to keep it closed.

"Trust me. It's good for you."

After awhile, Rain stopped feeling Blake beat against the glass. He just heard groaning.

"Hey, Blake? You okay in there?"

"No. I remembered what happened on the roof. I'm sorry."

"You clearly don't remember everything."

"I remember I assaulted you and you pushed me away."

"One: you were drunk. Two: we spoke afterwards. I know you can remember. Just focus."

For awhile there was just more silence. Rain was about to open his mouth to ask if she was okay when she spoke first.

"Did you really mean what you said?"

"Every word."

Another pause, "So, where do we go from here?"

"We'll figure that out as we go. Although, until we do, I think it might be a good idea to not tell anyone. Not that I'm ashamed or anything. It's just that, until we sort it out, the others might be able to poke a lot of holes in it. That would cause tension on a blossoming relationship."

He heard the sound of laughter coming from the shower, "You are _so_ awkward, you know that? So cold and logical. It's pretty funny. I think you're right, though. Yang would probably literally shoot this down, and you in the process."

"I'm not saying I'm afraid of my sister, but you're probably right."

"Can you let me out of here now. It's really cold."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

He got up and opened the door. Blake stood there, dripping wet from bow to boots. Her clothes clung to her skin in the. Most. Alluring way. Rain cupped her chin in his hand, leaned down, and kissed her. It was a soft kiss. Quick. It implied a gentleness that no one would have guessed Rain possible of if they hadn't seen it.

"What was that for?"

"Because I needed to."

"What does that mean?"

"It means... I need to get out of here or I might try something more. I'll go get you some clothes."

When he returned, she was already undressed. She chucked a towel at his face before he could focus.

"Knock next time, ass-hole!" She had quickly wrapped a towel around herself. "Leave the clothes and get out!"

Rain quickly did as he was told and closed the door behind him. Yang was leaning against the wall to the right of the door.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing. I threw her in a cold shower, went to get her a change of clothes, came back, and she was naked. It was not my fault."

"You _did_ forget to knock."

"I just can't win with you, can I? Fine. Make sure both of you are ready to leave in an hour. We've got a bullhead waiting on the roof and I need a new shirt since this one has vomit on it."

* * *

Blake felt awkward packing up with Yang in the room. It felt like Yang could just tell what was going on. Blake didn't know why, though. Yang was currently sitting upside down in a swivel chair and spinning.

Blake finished packing, but before she could leave Yang spoke up from her chair.

"Why is Rain being so nice to you?"

Blake froze, "What do you mean?"

"I mean: he's been inordinately nice to you, even given that you're in mourning. I get the drinking buddies thing. But he seems like he would have just left you on the roof if you fell asleep. Maybe the couch downstairs. He also seems like he would have just let you suffer from the hangover. He seems oddly kind, is all I'm saying. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it. Maybe he really does have a heart of gold. But I'm not sure. I think I'll watch you two like a hawk for now."

"You don't have anything to worry about, Yang. I'm sure he's just being a good leader. Looking after his troops. A good leader needs strength _and_ kindness, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess. I still can't shake the feeling that there's something more, though."

"Well, if it becomes something, you'll be the first to know."

"Blech." Yang started retching. "I can't even imagine the two of you together. I think it would cause me physical pain."

"Yeah, it would be weird. We should probably head up to the roof now. They might just leave without us."

* * *

"Well it's about time!" Rain shouted as Blake and Yang emerged onto the roof. "I really considered just leaving you two!"

Blake and Yang leaped easily up into the bullhead and secured spots beside Rain. Soon they lifted off and were flying towards the coast.

"So," Flare piped up from the cockpit, "What happened this morning in the bathroom? I coulda swore I heard screams and groans, if ya' know what I mean."

"That was nothing." Rain spoke into a headset, "I just threw Blake into a cold shower. That was the screams. The groans came when she realized that she wouldn't get out."

"Okay, boss. If you say so." Flare responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "We've still got a few hours before we get to the yacht. Anybody want to play 'I Spy'? I'll start. I spy with my little eye, something beginning with 's'."

"Is it sand?" Rain sighed into the headset.

"You got it first try. Good job, boss. Now you do one."

"There's nothing but sand outside. What else would I spy?"

"You could spy the sky, or the clouds, or that flock of nevermore that have now changed direction and are flying straight for us."

"What! Can you lose them?"

"Maybe, but there are a lot of them. We might have to fight."

"I'll take care of it. Just keep flying."

Rain took off his headset and climbed out the bay doors. Yang and Blake looked outside and saw that he was using ice to climb the side of the hull. When he got to the top he lifted his right hand and pointed at the pursuing flock.

Suddenly, a massive bolt of electricity surged out of his gauntlet and blasted right into the center of the flock, arcing to all the other nevermore and sending them all crashing down to the ground.

Inside the cabin, everyone cheered at the impressive display of power they had just witnessed. It was short-lived, however, as they started to hear a rumbling. They looked out the doors and saw a massive portion of dessert shifting and sliding as a giant, scaled head arose out of it.

"Um. Boss? What the hell is that?"

"A very ancient creature! I don't know how, but I think we pissed it off! Is there a nitro boost on this thing, Flare?!"

"Already pushing it to the limit."

"Then go past the bloody limit! We need to get out of here!"

The creature's massive head raised up and opened it's eyes. They were the colour of a thunder storm. All blacks and grays and full of danger. Yang felt as if they were staring into her very soul. It wasn't doing anything, though. It was just looking at them. After a couple of minutes, she realized that they weren't moving. Somehow, the creature was holding them in place. And still it just continued to stare.

Yang picked up the headset and put it on. "Flare? Try landing the plane. I don't think it wants to hurt us."

"Are you nuts?! It will kill us!"

"No, it won't. If it wanted to kill us it would have done so already. Land. The. Plane."

"Fine! But if we die, I am so torturing you in the afterlife. Whatever that might be."

As the plane started heading towards the ground, Rain swung back into the cabin. "Why are we actually going _closer_ to that thing?"

"Because it doesn't want to hurt us. I'm sure of it."

"That makes no sense!"

"Well, you're going to have to trust me."

"Fine. I'll see how this plays out. But if we die-"

"Yeah yeah. Flare already gave me the spiel."

The plane finally landed and Flare turned off the engine. When she and Banner emerged from the cockpit, all five of them leaped out of the cabin and walked towards the creature.

As they approached, the creature's head lowered until it was resting on the sand. The sun reflected off of it's golden scales and nearly blinded them. Suddenly, the scales became black and actually seemed to be absorbing the light. Whatever this creature wanted, it was obviously very intelligent.

They stopped a few feet from it's face and waited. Before long, it opened one eye and a man covered in scales and wearing black leather clothing seemed to emerge from within.

"Which of you children is Rainbow Branwen?"

"You have no idea what you have just done." Rain turned to address Banner and Flare, "Not one word, you two." He turned back to the scaled man, "And I am not a child, you ancient bastard!"

The man lifted his head to the sky and laughed with a sound like thunder. "It has been a long time since anyone has dared speak to me like that. I am older than this dessert. All people are children to me."

"Okay. Whatever. Why do you want me?"

"I awoke from a four millennium slumber, approximately, because you are changing things, boy. Things that should not be messed with. The future is always changing, fluid. Innumerable paths exist. But when decisions are made by important individuals, the paths are... slimmed down, for lack of a better term. Normally, that would be fine. That is how the world changes, after all. But, somehow, you narrowed the path... and then you rebuilt it. Very few have ever accomplished what you have done. None have survived the repercussions."

"When you say I 'rebuilt' the pathway of the future, isn't that what you just said is supposed to happen? Why is that a bad thing?"

"Think of it as a drawing, then. You do the basic circles and lines that would be drawn for pretty much any face. Then you draw the details that make it into a man or a woman. Normally, as more decisions are made, the drawing gets clearer. Maybe it's supposed to be a self-portrait. But you were supposed to add a touch of yellow to the hair and, instead, you managed to draw a freaking landscape! That is impossible to do safely without a _lot_ of luck or being a god. Now, I know you aren't a god. But if you were lucky you wouldn't be speaking to me because the universe wouldn't be trying to kill you."

"What are you talking about? That flock of nevermores? You think that was the universe trying to kill me? I've got news for you: I'm a lot tougher than that."

"You don't get it: There is something out there that keeps the universe in a state of balance. You have managed to piss it off! It sent the nevermores as a warning. It isn't too late to stop changing things. If you do as you were meant to do, everything will be fine. The universe will stop trying to kill you and might decide to help you."

"But I don't know what I changed! How can I stop if I don't know what to stop?"

"Did you have any sort of premonition before you started your quest? Some sort of gut feeling? Anything that made you feel like the end was certain?"

"Yeah. Right before I met my sister, I got the feeling that by the end of our mission I would be dead. I wasn't sure how, but I felt so certain that I would die."

"So did you resign yourself to it?"

"Yes. It felt inevitable, so I figured I should just fight as hard as I could. And then, when my time came, I would accept my fate and charge into the light."

"What happened to make you consider a path where you didn't die?"

Rain bristled, "I have no idea. I'm still willing to die."

"But will and want are two different things. You _are_ willing to die. I'm sure of that. But I think you _want_ to live. Something, or someone, has convinced you that living through the coming battle would be a good thing. I don't care what it was, but you need to cast it out right now. There is no future for you. You are going to die. Don't ask for more. In all probability, you'll die a hero."

"Why do you care that I'm remaking a drawing? You're ancient and powerful. It won't affect you."

"Haven't you been listening? If you don't stop wanting to live, as bad as that sounds, the attacks will get worse and worse. Eventually, the universe will justify destroying as much as it has to to stop you. That could include me."

"Well I am certain that I can cheat death if I try. So how about you get out of my way?"

"Fine. You can go. But know this: There are more like me. And most of them are nowhere near as nice. They _will_ try less friendly ways to convince you. If you meet them, you'll need some kind of ancient weapon. I would attempt to find one if I were you."

"I'll keep that in mind."

With that, they climbed into the bullhead and started back on their original course. They heard a rumbling from where they had been and looked to see the creature arise completely from the sand. It was something to behold; A dragon the size of a small continent was hovering in the air. It looked at them for a brief moment before it flew upwards and then dove back into the dessert, disappearing without a trace.

* * *

 **A.N: Bet you won't be able to guess where he gets the ancient weapon. Like Qrow said: Remnant is full of stories and legends. If there are so many, who's to say he won't conveniently run into someone who just happens to have one. For those of you who don't understand the title, look up the 'Hero's Journey/Monomyth'.**


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: More Character Development**

It was a very quiet ride back to the ship. After they had returned to the yacht, Rain locked himself in his cabin and hadn't come out for a few hours. Flare was lounging by the pool and Banner was working out. Yang and Blake had gone to their cabins as well. None of them wanted to talk about the strangeness they had just witnessed. Blake was pacing her room for about the twelfth time when she decided that she needed to talk to him.

She slowly opened the door to her room and stuck to the shadows as she made her way down the halls. When she arrived at his door, she used a trick she didn't use often because it gave her slight nausea. She stood with her back to the door and activated her semblance, physically teleporting through the door. When the nausea finally lifted, what she saw of the room was frightening.

Rain had completely trashed the place; the only thing left untouched was his bed. Everything else had been shattered, splintered, or ripped apart. Rain was sitting cross-legged on the bed, meditating.

"I was wondering if you could do that. Thanks for the confirmation. Don't mind the mess: I had some issues I needed to work through."

"You destroyed your room."

"Some _serious_ issues, then." Rain got up off the bed, walked to the door, and opened it, "Now please leave."

Blake walked over and sat on the bed. "Nope. We're going to talk about what happened in the desert. After all, we _are_ in a relationship. However odd it is."

Rain sighed, "Fine." He closed the door and walked over to sit beside her, "Fine. Where do you want to start? Oh, I know. How about where the ancient and magical being living under the desert sands declared our relationship a crime against the universe itself? That's a fun one."

"Did you really know you were going to die by the end of this?"

"Yep."

"Then why did you start up with me? If the feeling was so strong..."

"Because it was like he said: you gave me hope that I could survive. It was strange at first, but it felt like I had found someone that I could love and be loved by in return. I really can't describe it, but there's something about achieving a feeling I have never felt for anyone outside my family that gives me hope. It's like some kind of cosmic joke that I only get to feel emotions in the one instance where they could cause me to sacrifice the world."

"Wow. You are really dumb, you know that?"

"What?"

"Just because you feel these emotions doesn't mean they'll make you end the world. You just have to accept that death is inevitable, even with love. Love can't stop everything. No matter what people might believe, love isn't magical. Or at least it isn't _that_ magical."

"What are you trying to say?"

"We can enjoy what time you have left. And when your time comes, we'll have no regrets. Except that there wasn't more time to enjoy."

"Well, if you insist."

Rain turned to her, cupped her chin and leaned in to her for a kiss. It started out gentle, but he eventually became more passionate. It was as if he was dying of thirst and she was a cup of delicious water. He eventually pushed her down onto the bed. She didn't resist and even started to let out a few small moans.

He started to take off her clothes. He started with the bow, followed by her outer vest and then her shirt. She started trying to unbuckle his belt and pull down his pants. In the throes of passion, as they were, they didn't hear the sound of the door opening. But they certainly heard what came next.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!"

They quickly disentangled and stood up. Yang stood in the doorway, looking as if she couldn't decide between disgust and rage. Her eyes were crimson, though: never a good sign.

"Yang, there is a perfectly rational-"

"SHUT IT! I came here to try and help you through the bombshell that was just dropped on you and it turns out you're trying to bang my friend! What the hell, Rain?! What! The! Hell!"

"Yang. It's fine. We just got a bit over-enthusiastic is all." Blake spoke up. "We figured that, if he has to die by the end of our mission, we should at least find the most happiness we can before then."

The sound of running feet could be heard from the hallway outside. Suddenly, Flare and Banner lurched into view through the doorway. They both seemed stunned for a second.

Banner started to laugh, "Okay, Flare. I was right. Pay up."

Flare absentmindedly handed Banner a stack of cash while continuing to stare in shock at the room.

"How long has this been happening?" Yang spit out with barely suppressed rage, "Did it start before we got to Vacuo?"

Blake and Rain looked between each other quizzically. Rain was the first to turn back to Yang. "About twenty-four hours. Give or take."

Banner burst out laughing, "Holy shit, boss! Her boyfriend wasn't even cold! You move _fast_!"

"Yes, I get it, Banner. Now could you please shut up? That would be great."

"How could you do this? You lied to my face, Blake."

"Technically I did keep my promise, though. You _were_ the first person to find out."

"How can you treat this like a joke?! You're sleeping with my brother!"

Rain cut in, "Before we start in on that: Banner, could you take Flare away from here? I think she might be broken."

"Whatever you say, boss. Whatever you say."

After the two of them had left, Rain walked over and locked the door.

"Okay. Now that the two of them are gone, maybe we can have this discussion civilly."

Yang seemed to sway and collapsed against the wall. She slid down and came to a rest with her knees up in front of her.

"Do you actually love each other?" she asked in a defeated voice.

"Yes." Rain responded, "I have never really felt love, even for family. But Blake awakened something in me. Almost like there was a part of my humanity that was locked up, and she was the key. Does that make sense?"

Yang turned to look at Blake, "What about you?"

"Yes. I can't explain it, but it feels like I was missing a part of myself until he came along. Suddenly, I feel like I can actually stay somewhere without destroying everything I love."

Yang sighed despondently, "Then I guess there's nothing I can do." she got up and walked to the door. Right before she left, she turned around, "Just promise me that you'll be safe."

"We promise." they said in unison.

"Good enough, then." and she slammed the door behind her.

Rain turned to Blake, "So, I don't know about you, but that kind of killed the mood for me."

Blake punched him lightly on the arm, "Duh. Being told by your friend to have safe sex with her brother is kind of a mood killer."

"What should we do, then?"

"We could just cuddle."

"I guess there isn't anything else to do in here that doesn't require a bed. Okay."

Rain slipped beneath the blanket and motioned for her to join him. She did, and he wrapped his arms around her. After a few minutes, she started purring again.

"Just how much of you is cat?"

"Shut up. I was actually comfortable. Now go to sleep."

"Fine, miss bossy cat."

"That wasn't a very good joke."

"I'm very drained right now. It was the best joke I could come up with."

* * *

Yang paced beside the pool while Banner tried to snap Flare back to reality.

"If that son-of-a-bitch hurts her..."

Banner spoke without looking away from Flare, "Isn't said 'bitch' also your mother?"

"She's kind of a terrible mom. She abandoned me as a baby and never let anyone know I had a brother. Even worse: I don't even know why."

"Really? I know."

Yang stopped pacing, "How do _you_ know?"

"You'd be surprised how often people forget about my semblance. Especially when I was recruited because of it. I have all kinds of dirt on people. Except for Flare. She's always careful. It's partially why we're such a good team. She is always on the alert and can always see my tell-tale shimmer."

"Why would she be so alert?"

"Because my aura is very weak and I can't even use a semblance."

Both Yang and Banner turned to look at Flare, who had suddenly snapped out of her coma.

"If you can't use a semblance..."

"It means that I am the most skilled member of the team. Because I can only take a few hits before my aura is depleted and I can get hit directly. I _have_ to dodge every strike. I am the most dangerous because I have never had much of an aura to fall back on. I have to make every attack count. I wasn't just recruited because of my lineage. I was recruited because I can stop anyone. Including you, Blondie."

"Why do you hate me, Flare? What have I ever done to you?"

"Ever since you and that cat arrived, things have been going strangely. Rain's rescue plan was ill thought out and needlessly complicated. Then, we met an ancient creature, who told Rain he had to die. As if that wasn't bad enough, now Rain is sleeping with an animal!"

Yang rushed up to Flare and leaned down into her face. "SAY THAT AGAIN! I DARE YOU!"

Banner spoke up, "Flare, I would apologize. Maybe offer some kind of apology in the way of money or something."

"Shut up, Banner. I can handle little miss bloodshot here. She wouldn't actually come after me. She doesn't have the guts. Then again, we could always find out."

Flare went to stab Yang in the stomach with a knife hidden up her sleeve. Before she could, however, Yang activated the slowdown. She grabbed the knife out of Flare's hand, snapped her wrist, and delivered an uppercut to her chin. When the slowdown ended, Flare went flying upwards and down into the pool. Yang smirked and then fell to one knee, almost completely emptied of her aura.

"Oh, boy. You really did it now. If she didn't hate you before, she definitely will now."

"Worth it." Yang started to feel lightheaded, "I think I need to lie down."

"Yeah. Probably a good idea after a slowdown."

"You know what it is?"

"What did I just tell you? Nobody notices my invisible self unless they're looking. I know a lot more than I ever say."

"Why are you so interested?"

"Because, one day, it might just save my life. Let's be honest: Not many of us are going to make it out alive. We were told from the start that, if we were to go rogue, Rain would put us down; no second chances. Either redeem yourself and live as a hero or die as a villain."

"Wow. I never really thought of it like that. Not to change the topic, but should we fish Flare out of the pool? She's been down for a while."

"Probably. You go lie down and I'll get her out of the pool and put her in the brig."

"Why the brig?"

"Because she needs some time to settle down. Don't worry; the cells were built with people like us in mind. She won't be killing you in your sleep."

* * *

Flare woke up with a pounding headache and a sharp pain in her left wrist. When she looked up, she saw metal bars and Banner leaning against the opposite wall.

"You went too far, Flare. You're lucky that Yang only broke your wrist."

"Get me out of here, Banner. I don't want to hear another speech about proper conduct. They're boring and I don't care."

"You know what I've been trying to figure out?"

"Nope. And you obviously aren't listening to me."

"Why is it that you care so much what Rain does with Blake?"

Flare's mouth turned into a grim line, "You're crossing into dangerous territory here, Banner."

"Maybe it's because you want Rain to be with you. Maybe that's why you're so hostile to Yang and Blake: They have love which you think should only be for you."

"Why shouldn't he love me? I'm the best member of the team. He _should_ love me!"

"You know _why_ , Flare. He has little more than disdain for us. And he should. We've all done terrible things in our lives. And unlike him, we have had a choice to do evil or good. And we all chose evil. Every one of us.

"Yang and Blake, on the other hand, have chosen to be good. Do you even know why the White Fang wanted Blake. She used to be the second-in-command of that psychopath Rain killed. She left when she saw what had become of them, though. She made a choice to do good when she could have easily embraced the darkness. And even after she found out what Blake had done before she left, Yang forgave her. She accepted the darkness and chose to embrace the light that remained. When have any of us done something like that? Never! We are driven by hatred and vengeance. We do not deserve what love he has. We are monsters without souls! Why can't you see that?"

"Because it's not fair! I didn't have a choice! It was either go into a family business or get kicked to the curb!"

"You could have survived on the streets. You're strong. It would have been better than killing people! You may have had a pretty shitty choice, but it was still a choice. I've worked with you for five years. I know the perverse pleasure you take in killing. Don't try and claim innocence. You liked being an assassin. You may have been thrust into it, but there was a part of you that jumped in wholeheartedly! You have nobody to blame for your lot in life but yourself."

Banner started walking towards the door.

"We are not done, Banner! Come back here, you coward!"

Banner stopped in the doorway and looked over his shoulder, "I know I'm a coward, Flare. And I have accepted that flaw and become stronger because of it. Maybe you should think about that." He stepped through the door and closed it behind him, leaving her in utter darkness.

* * *

Cinder flew through the sky, ecstatic in her powers, which had now doubled. She rocketed over valleys and through mountains. She was seen by many in outlying villages, and all of them knew that she was something utterly unnatural.

When she got to the mountain pass, she flew down to the cave and lit it with twin lines of fire that would stay burning for decades. She eventually got to the mosaic and, once again, the pale figure arose from the shadows. Before she spoke to it, she noticed that the changing portion had locked into place with Adam and the monkey boy dead. That was a shame: Adam had been a very useful tool.

Oddly enough, the next uncovered portion was a good distance down from the locked scene. It kept flickering so fast that nothing could be gleaned from it. The only thing that was certain was every version had a lot of red tiles.

"Mistress, what does this mean? How can the far future be narrowed, but the immediate future is uncertain?"

"One of those at the center of this tale has made a decision that shouldn't have been possible. This has never happened without dire consequences. I'm afraid the future will be very chaotic now. I assume your mission was successful."

"Yes it was. I can feel the unmatched power coursing through my body. I can also feel the power of the other maidens calling to me, even here. Tracking them down will be much easier now."

"You didn't happen to procure a weapon from the maiden, did you?"

"No. Her weapons were absolutely ancient. They didn't seem worth my time."

"Those weapons belonged to the first maidens. They focus the powers of a maiden and boost them. If you procure them next time, that would be appreciated."

"But I am already twice as strong as the other two. No one in history has ever held this much power."

"That is where you are wrong. There was once a woman who had all of that power within her. She was unbeatable in combat and immortal. She ruled with love and steel. But she was betrayed by a young mage whom she had taken a liking to. He stole her powers and destroyed her. He later transferred that power to the four maidens. But he could always recall it if he wanted to. It just would have taken a bit of effort. Remember that, even with the powers of all four, you can still be defeated."

"Of course, my mistress."

"Good. Now it appears that, while we were talking, a new scene has played out."

Beside the blonde brawlers was now a scene of a blood-splattered flower with a lightning bolt across it. Beneath were the blonde brawlers and a black-haired warrior. Underneath that the scene kept changing: A kite shield shattered, a red scythe cut in half, a pair of yellow eyes peering out of darkness with blood pooled under it, a pair of crossed knives, and Cinder impaled on a red spear.

"Why is there always an option of me dying?"

"Because you are central to this story, Cinder. If you did not have a chance of dying, then you would never be able to succeed."

"If you say so. Which maiden should I go for next?"

"Spring. You will retrieve Spring next."

"As you wish." Cinder bowed and flew out of the cave.

After she had gone, the figure knelt by the rapidly changing mosaic and used slowdown. For a few seconds she could see the futures that were available. And in each of them one person died every time. A smirk crossed the figure's face; Everything was happening as planned.

* * *

 **A.N: Because I like to have options I will do a little bit more of the multiple foreshadowing. Also, how are you feeling about the relationship between Blake and Rain? Does it work? Should I stop it? Please respond with your thoughts on the matter.**

 **P.S: I won't have much of a chance to post this chapter on Friday, so I am posting it at about an hour to midnight where I am. Hope you enjoy.**


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: In Soviet Russia...**

When they got within sight of Mistral, the captain sounded the horn. Everyone went up on deck to see what could be seen.

Mistral's coastline was primarily swamp. The sea just ran right up to a wall of trees growing out of the water. After a ways, one could see smaller plants like reeds and long grasses growing among the trees. The way seemed impassable for the yacht.

Yang turned to her brother, whose arm was lazily thrown over Blake's shoulder, "How are we going to get to the actual city? There's no way the yacht is getting through."

"The yacht isn't getting through here. We are going to depart in a smaller boat and the yacht will travel down the coast until it finds the proper passage. That will take too long, though, and we don't have time to waste."

"Where are we getting the smaller boat?"

"Follow me."

* * *

"There's no way that I am getting on _that_ to travel through swamps infested with who-knows-what." Yang exclaimed when they got to the boat dock below decks.

"Don't insult Dmitri's baby. It's his pride and joy."

"His pride and joy is a piece of junk."

A man appeared from underneath the boat. "I assure you that baby will get you into the capital with no issues. She may look shabby, but she's the fastest beast in the swamps and has the artillery to get out of any situation."

The boat in question looked like an aluminum skiff, but with a giant fan on the back. Mounted on the prow was a cannon, and on each side was a massive machine gun. The actual siding of the boat was dented and scratched, with one part actually having a very big tooth stuck in it.

"I still have my doubts. What can we expect to come across in the swamp?"

"On most trips, nothing. Once in a while, though, the grimm come out to play. There's a species of grimm which hides half-underwater. It looks like a dead tree from the surface, but it can move incredibly fast and can rip your arm off with one chomp of it's massive teeth. They're generally solitary hunters, though you might get groups of two or three. There are also some species of grimm that live in the trees and will throw anything they can get their hands on at you. They're harder to put down because you can't always see them. But if you can knock them out of the tree, they'll drown in the water."

"That seems pretty dangerous for just two guns and a cannon."

"Well, you also have me along for the ride. As well as my other baby." Dmitri reached into the boat and pulled out a massive backpack with one hand.

"Say hello to Gwendoline. She's a machine gun that shoots harpoons." He demonstrated by putting it on and reaching around for the handle. He pulled out a small trigger with a brace that led back around to the pack. When he clicked it, metal slid down from the pack to assemble around his arm into a gatling gun with barbs sticking out of the barrels.

"But how effective is it?"

Dmitri walked over to the bay doors and opened them up. While they had been below, the ship had managed to get right next to the shoreline. They were now staring out at the swamp a few dozen feet in front of them.

"Watch this." He turned to the swamp, took aim, and fired one shot. It blasted out of the barrel at such high speed that it created a sonic boom. It went through several trees and just kept going until it was out of sight. Many of the trees that it hit fell over afterwards because they had been hit with such force that those spots were just shredded.

"Are you still worried?"

"Not really."

"You should be. All of you should. This is the most dangerous part of Remnant to encounter grimm. There is no solid ground for you to stand on if we get attacked. None of you, I assume, can fight in the water either. So trust me when I tell you: be afraid. You can never tell what is out there. Everything will try to kill you."

"And on that cheery note, everybody pile aboard." Rain said as he walked on to the boat and took up position at the cannon. "Flare and Blake, take the machine guns. Banner, you're our driver. Yang I want you acting as support. Dmitri, you're up front with me. Everybody know what they're doing? Good. Let's go."

* * *

It had been a fairly uneventful few hours making their way through the swamp. They had come across a few animals which had wisely run away from them. They had all started to get more relaxed as time went by. Before long they started to see lights through the trees. As they rounded a particularly large tree, they actually saw the walls of the city through a cleared area. They started to cheer. And that's when everything went wrong at once.

A large, scaly grimm fell out the trees to their right, as if thrown. It chomped down on Dmitri where he was standing up in the prow. The grimm and Dmitri both disappeared under the water. After that, five more like the first grimm surfaced around the boat. They opened fire with the machine guns and the cannon. But only the cannon was having any effect.

"Banner!" Rain shouted to the back, "Get us to the wall!"

"But what about Dmitri?!"

"Leave him! He knew what could happen! He's probably dead already!"

Suddenly, large branches started raining down from the trees around them.

"Flare! Blake! Shoot for the trees! The guns obviously don't work on the amphibians!"

When Flare and Blake switched to the trees, grimm started dropping like flies. They were large and resembled gorillas in shape. But they also had large bone plates covering their faces and parts of the legs and chests. The bullets weren't even injuring them much. It was more so that they were being forced off of their perches by the barrage of bullets.

Soon, one of the grimm in the water jumped up and chomped off the fan on the back.

"We're dead in the water!" Banner shouted, "What do we do?"

"Keep fighting until the city sends a rescue party. It's our only chance."

They kept losing parts of the boat to the onslaught of grimm. First the machine guns were bit off. Followed shortly after by the cannon. They all started firing their own weapons blindly into the water, hoping something would stick. The grimm were just about to overrun them when a bullhead appeared above them and dropped four rope ladders.

"Everybody up! Move it!" Rain commanded while he was still blasting the water with energy blasts.

The four of them quickly got up the ladders and looked down to see Rain surrounded by grimm. He quickly made sure they were all up the ropes and jumped off a grimm, into the air, to catch a ladder. As soon as he did, the bullhead pulled away from the grimm assault and headed for the city. They looked back to see the remains of the boat sinking into the murky depths.

"Goodbye, Dmitri. You were a good friend and a better man than I. You have earned your rest."

Rain turned away from the site of the attack and picked up a headset, "So who do I have to thank for that stunning rescue?"

A wolf howl could be heard through the announcement system. It just seemed to confuse the two members of team RWBY. But the Soldiers had multiple reactions to the howl: Flare hung her head and then sighed, Banner just threw back his head and laughed, and Rain howled right back.

"It's good to hear from you, Lucian! Would you please give us a rundown on the current situation in Mistral."

"It's bad, boss." A thick voice buzzed through the speaker. It sounded like the person the voice belonged to had a hard time speaking. "There's little to no police or military presence within the city. Grimm have been attacking the walls daily in larger and larger hordes. Huntsmen and Huntresses are dying by the dozens. The people are terrified right now, and that's just attracting more grimm. The one positive aspect of all of this is that we were able to find the woman you wanted. She's been fighting on the front lines the entire time. About a week ago, the grimm started getting stronger and stronger, almost like they were resistant to our weapons. They've even been seen utilizing strategy. It would cause mass hysteria if word got to the general public."

"That's pretty bad. We need to regroup and come up with a plan of attack. Where is your current hideout?"

"We actually can't go there yet. We're needed on the front lines."

"Lucian, we just got our asses handed to us by a small contingent of grimm. We're drained."

"So's everybody around here, boss. But we still keep fighting. Because if we all stopped, the grimm would overtake us within a week. We're fighting a losing battle around here."

"Uhn! Fine! We'll head to the front lines. Is Moria over there as well?"

"Yep. That psychopath is in the thick of it. It's sometimes scary to watch."

"How's the pack holding up?"

"Oh, they're fine. They think it's fun to just wade into a horde of grimm and rip them to shreds. Who am I to discourage them?"

The bullhead had reached the opposite wall of the city and they could only see a sea of grimm past it. Thousands of the scaled monsters were throwing themselves against the walls. Mixed in to the sea of black and white were a few spots where people could be seen fighting. Most of them were losing battles. Hunters could be seen going down under the horde at least once a minute.

"Where's the biggest contingent of grimm? I can potentially take a massive amount out, but I want minimal casualties. I know we're supposed to put the mission before everything, but minimal casualties is allowed."

"Well, there appears to be-" Lucian's response was cut short by a very high-pitched scream coming from below them.

"Banner. Flare. Get down there and help that girl."

Both of them flipped out of the bullhead and down toward the fray. Blake and Yang quickly lowered the ladders off the side to allow them to get back up quickly.

After a tense few minutes of waiting, the ladders tensed, as if someone were climbing them. The first two up were very familiar faces for Yang and Blake.

"Jaune? Ren?" Yang stared at them. "What are you two doing in the middle of this?"

"Time for explanations later." Jaune said decisively, "Ruby, Nora, and those other two are still down there." Jaune started, as if just noticing Rain, who had put his mask on. "Who's this?"

"Time for that later." Rain announced and jumped out of the bullhead. When he landed, a massive circle of ice erupted around the center of this particular battle. A few unlucky grimm were impaled on the top.

"It's okay, Jaune. He's on our side. He'll keep them safe."

After another few minutes Ruby, Flare, and Nora arrived up the ladders.

"Where are Rain and Banner?" Yang asked Flare.

Flare just pointed behind her and said: "Showing off."

Outside, the two could be seen running/climbing up the wall of ice. Eventually they drew level with the bullhead and kicked off the wall. They landed on their backs in the bullhead and slid to a stop with their heads hanging out the opposite doorway.

"Now _that_ was fun."Rain announced to nobody in particular. He then picked up the headset. "Lucian, get us out of here. These kids are tired and need some rest. I also have to talk to them about some things."

"What? No. We need to get back in the fight." Ruby spoke up from her place by the wall. "Just who are you to tell us what to do?"

"Rain turned to look at her, "Miss Rose, is it? For one thing, I just saved your lives. For another, I outclass you in strength, skill, training, and age. Finally, if you don't want to listen to me, listen to Yang." He then pointed to where Yang was standing.

"Yang? Wha-how- Yang!" Ruby cried out and jumped into her sister's arms. She then noticed their were two arms. "Yang?"

"Yeah, Ruby?"

"How did you get your arm back?"

"Dad's semblance."

"Oh. How did none of us think of that before?"

"I have no idea."

"Yang, who is this guy? Why would you take orders from him?"

"It's complicated, Ruby. We should talk in private later."

Ruby looked a little down-heated, "Okay. But how did you get here?"

"Atlesian military yacht."

"What the heck is that?"

"Excuse me for interrupting," Rain butted in, "but we still need to decide whether we stay or go. Miss Rose, what is your decision?"

"We will go and regroup. Because now that I've stopped for a second, I realize just how little energy I actually had left."

"Good choice. Lucian, take us back to base."

* * *

"Wait! What?! I have a brother? That's so cool!"

"I honestly did not know what to expect, but it wasn't that."

After they had returned to Lucian's base, Rain had taken Ruby and Yang to a private room and had explained the goings-on of the past few weeks. Ruby had taken it surprisingly well and only seemed focused on the fact that she had a brother.

"What are your weapons? Why do you wear that mask? What's your semblance? Why were you removed from us for so long?"

"Gauntlets that manipulate ice and energy dust. Because Ozpin gave it to me. Aura manipulation. And because I am an extremely dangerous individual who should not be allowed to interact with those of pure goodness such as yourself."

"Oh. What's aura manipulation?"

"Allow me to use it on you and you'll see."

"Okay."

Rain reached out and did exactly as he had done to Yang before. He reached out and removed some of her aura. She started to collapse, but Yang was ready and caught her. Rain then reversed the flow and fed it back into her.

"Whoa. That was kinda freaky."

"Yeah. And if I don't have permission, it hurts terribly for both me and the person I'm moving aura to or from. I am also technically able to move a person's entire soul. But I only did that once. Both to create a new form of life, and to save a dying child. You knew the result of said venture. Her name was Penny Polendina."

"You made Penny? That's so cool."

"Is there anything else you would like to know, little sis?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm curious and you're handsome."

"Okay then. Yes, I do have a girlfriend. And you know her. Can you guess who it is?"

"Miss Goodwitch?"

"No."

"Winter Schnee?"

"No."

"Well, I know it isn't Blake."

"Actually..."

"No way! Does that mean that she and I could one day be sisters?! That would be so cool!"

"Um, Ruby. There's something I think you should know: I'm not going to survive this journey that we are on. I know it sounds bad, but I've accepted it."

"But how do you know you're going to die?"

"Because I had a premonition and, also, an ancient dragon living in the sands of Vacuo told me so. He told me that, if I didn't, that the universe would do it's best to destroy me. He also said that other ancient beings would try to convince me in more dangerous ways. He said the only way to stop them was to procure an ancient weapon."

"Then let's find one."

"Ruby, it's not that simple. Most weapons from stories and legends have a specific criteria for who can wield them. Like Eyecalibur only being able to be used by a one-eyed king, or the legendary sword and shield of the great heroes Sebastian and Madeline Arc. These things don't just work for anyone. Even if I could find one, it might not work at all."

"I guess. Why do those stories always have- wait. What did you say about those two heroes?"

"Sebastian and Madeline Arc? They were two of the greatest warriors on Remnant. Their sword and shield focused their hereditary auras into pure destructive and protective force, respectively. It was said that only those with the blood of an Arc can use them. Why?"

"Because I know an Arc. And he has a sword and shield that are family heirlooms."

Rain got up in Ruby's face, "WHAT? HOW? Their bloodline disappeared centuries ago, along with their sword and shield."

"You know the blonde with pretty crappy armour you picked up with me? That's him."

Rain burst out of the room as fast as possible.

Ruby turned to Yang, "He's really impulsive, isn't he?"

"Nope. He's actually very calculated, normally. But when the lives of people you love are on the line, you can do crazy things."

"Yang. Now that we're alone, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Well, last time we spoke, you told me that you were done with everything. Why are you out and about now?"

"Because my brother walked into my life and I realized that he would know where my mother was. There is so much that I need to know. So many things I want to say. He can help me find her. And all he wants in exchange is to know his family. That seems like more than fair."

"But will your heart be fixed afterwards? Will you be happy with what you find?"

"I don't know. But I don't really care right now."

"Just don't get consumed, okay? I don't want to lose you again."

Yang grabbed Ruby in a bear hug, "I promise you, I won't leave you again."

* * *

 **A.N: So can anyone figure out what I hinted at? There is something there about the way this world of Remnant works if you're looking for it. Maybe there is more to the grimm than meets the eye. Who knows? I really don't have much else to say in this chapter. It was mainly just a setup for the next chapter. Bye.**


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Ink and Wolf**

When Yang and Ruby arrived in the main room, Rain had Jaune backed up against a wall and Jaune looked terrified.

"How could you be so ignorant of your own lineage?! They were the greatest family of warriors to ever walk Remnant! They were undefeated in battle. Only one person even came close. Now let me see your weapons!"

Jaune just turned his body so that his weapon was against the wall, "N-n-no. They're a family heirloom. I can't just give them to somebody I don't even know."

"Jaune." Ruby spoke up. "It's fine. He's Yang's twin. He's overall a good guy."

"What? How?" Jaune studied Rain more closely and started to notice the similarities. "Okay. If Ruby and Yang vouch for you." He then handed Crocea Mors to Rain.

Rain received it as if he had just been handed a newborn child. He slowly withdrew the blade and then expanded the shield. He then handed the shield back to Jaune.

"Okay. Now I am going to hit you and you will try to block the hit. Now!"

Rain slashed down and Jaune brought the shield up on instinct. When the two met, Jaune glowed white and the shield made a sound like a bell tolling. A flash of white enveloped the room, and when it cleared, Rain was slumped against the far wall, cradling his arm.

"What was that?" Jaune asked in bewilderment.

"It's the secret of your family. Your semblance works exclusively with that sword and shield. But only one at a time. That's why you could never figure it out."

"So if the shield knocked you back and broke your wrist just on instinct, what would happen if I focused with the sword?"

"Incredible destruction. And we will use it. But first, we need to find out what is causing all the grimm to focus so intently on the city."

As he finished his sentence, the door to the roof opened and in walked the two Soldiers for Mistral. They were definitely the strangest Soldiers to be seen so far. Moria looked like she had walked straight out of a battle in a tattoo parlour. She was absolutely covered in tattoos from head to toe of an almost random nature. There didn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to them. She also had a healthy dose of bruises on her arms and legs.

Lucian looked even stranger. He seemed to be a very animalistic wolf faunus. Not only did he have the typical ears of a faunus, but he also had a tail and a mix between paws and hands. His most notable feature was a long snout instead of a human mouth. Now Yang understood why he had sounded so strange over the speakers in the bullhead.

Rain turned to address the two of them as they entered. "What do you know about the grimm attacking the city? Are any of them especially big? Is there any area they seem to be coming from? Any knowledge of that nature would be helpful."

Moria spoke first, "Nice to see you too, boss. Good to see nothing's changed. Except for the twin, her little sister, and the fact that you now have a girlfriend."

Everyone except the Soldiers just stared in awe.

Rain turned to the others, "Part of the reason Moria was recruited is that she has incredible skills of deduction. You might also be wondering about her tattoos. Her semblance is the ability to manipulate ink. So she covered herself in the stuff in order to always have a weapon. She was actually just a bank robber when she was recruited. Compared to everybody else, It's not a very interesting story."

"Thanks, boss. Nearest we could narrow down the source was in the eastern swamps. No one has tried to get closer because everybody's hands are full dealing with the grimm. We could probably make it out there at full force in a few hours."

"Okay." Rain turned to address Lucian, "Call back the pack and let them rest until we're ready to move. I have some things to sort out before we go."

Yang raised her hand. "Um. Can you maybe explain the wolf-man a little bit? It's just that I've never seen a faunus quite so... faunus. No offence."

Lucian just smirked. "None taken. Most people cringe at the sight of me. Some children even scream. Some adults too, now that I think about it. I'm technically a different breed of faunus. There are some who would call me a purebred. I actually quite like 'wolf-man'. I have a genetic mutation which causes the animal DNA to be more dominant than usual. It gives me a more lupine appearance and actually allows me to speak to all canines to a varying degree. I'd been tearing villages apart with my pack for shits and giggles when Ozpin caught me. Been a Soldier ever since."

"Why do I get the feeling you've told this story before?"

"Because, after Rain, I was the first Soldier recruited. I had to tell every other Soldier my tale. I became kinda good at telling it."

"So now that introductions are out of the way, I am going to head out and run some errands. Lucian is in charge while I'm gone."

Flare chirped up from the back, "Why is the dog in charge? Why not someone who isn't a total lunatic? Like literally anyone else?"

"Fine." Rain turned to the group of non-Soldiers, "Ruby's in charge. If you have a problem with that, Flare, remember that she was the one who killed your brother. So..."

Ruby raised her hand.

"Yes, Ruby? What would you like to say?"

"I'm not staying here. I'm going with you."

"No. I don't need your help with this."

"Too bad, bro. I want to ask you questions and I want to ask them now. So either you send somebody else to do these errands, or you let me come with."

"Fine. Lucian's in charge again. Come on, little sister."

Rain walked out of the main doors and Ruby followed close behind. The Soldiers just stared at the open door in awe.

"Are you guys okay?" Yang asked when they hadn't moved for a couple minutes.

Lucian replied first, "We've never seen anyone order Rain around before except Ozpin. It's a bit weird to think that his family could do so much to control him."

* * *

"Why did Raven take you and not Yang?"

"It's a complicated tale. And not one that _I_ can tell. Only Raven can."

"Okay. Why do you wear a grimm mask?"

"Because they're an ancient symbol of great warriors and Ozpin gave it to me."

"When did you and Blake officially start... you know."

"Less than twenty-four hours after Sun died."

"Couldn't you have put that in a nicer-sounding way?"

"No. I don't believe in half-truths. Now get ready. We're approaching the first errand. Pull your hood up so people can't see your face."

While they had been talking, they'd been racing through the streets. Ruby used her semblance and Rain had been using a slightly different version of slowdown to keep up. Now they had arrived at the outskirts of a small tent village in the center of the city.

The tents were full of people recovering from injuries or dying from them. As they walked through the tents, some people turned to look at them. Most immediately looked away, but one pair of eyes got up and followed them.

"AND JUST WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH?!"

Every one stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the sudden outburst. Rain just slowly turned around to face it.

"Nice to see you again too, Headmistress Nocturne"

"I should put you in the fucking **ground** for the amount of death that has been caused by your inaction! Now tell me what could have possibly been more important!"

"I was trying to stop the Fall maiden's killer from killing Summer. I got there too late and now I'm here to protect Spring. And just because _I_ haven't been here doesn't mean I left you with nothing. Two of my strongest operatives have been fighting beside your forces the entire time. Now maybe we should take this conversation somewhere more private. People are gathering."

Nocturne seemed taken aback at his boldness and apparent lack of fear after her outburst. But she was also frustrated with herself for not confronting him in a less public forum.

"Yes we should." she pointed to a rooftop nearby, "I'll meet you up there." With that two massive wings sprouted from her back, taking Ruby completely by surprise. Nocturne then flew up to the roof.

"Um... Rain?"

"Yeah?"

"Are all the faunus around here... stronger than most."

"There's something about Mistral that produces the most practical manifestation of the animal side of a faunus. It leads many to believe that this is their homeland. Now let's get up to the roof."

Rain slammed his fist into the ground and made a staircase of ice for the two of them.

"You're a very flashy person, you know that?"

"Yup."

* * *

"Well that's hilarious. _You_ manage to find love and it turns out that the universe wants to kill you for it. Now what do you want from me? You wouldn't be here otherwise."

"I've found an Arc with Crocea Mors."

"That's a story to inspire children. It has no basis in reality."

"I already tested him with the two pieces. They were real. We can wipe out a lot of grimm today. But I need your help to do it."

"Why?"

"Because only you can get everyone in the city to hold hands in a big group that connects to me, and by extension the Arc."

"You're crazy. That much aura pumped into one individual would kill them."

"Not if he was also unleashing a massive amount at the same time. Plus it will be going through me first. And the Arcs are the only people in history to have an incredible capacity for aura; I highly doubt it would kill him."

"Fine. I'll see what I can do. At the very least it should give the people some hope."

"Thank you."

Nocturne turned and jumped off the roof, spreading her wings as she fell.

Rain turned to Ruby, "Okay. Now that that's done, we're going to the front lines."

"Why?"

"Because Spring is there and we need to protect her."

"But she's a maiden. What could we protect her from?"

"The threats she can't see coming."

* * *

It had taken them awhile, but Ruby and Rain managed to track down the Spring maiden. She was darting from place to place and saving as many lives as she could. Most people didn't seem to register her presence and the grimm actually shrunk away from her. When they finally caught up to her, she was less than pleased.

"Rainbow Branwen?! You son-of-a-bitch! What are you doing here?! Finally come back for dinner with my parents? Only two years late!"

"I'm here because you need protection! It also wasn't exactly my fault that I left. Blame Ozpin. Also, I was fifteen!"

"Same old Rain: always somebody else's fault. And who do I need protection from?"

"The woman who stole Fall's powers now also has Summer's. We can't afford to lose another maiden."

"And what makes you think you can protect me from her?"

"I found one of the Arcs. We can use him to kill her. I also have a team of very powerful warriors at my disposal."

"Like this little girl right here?" she indicated Ruby, "Is she one of your 'powerful warriors'? Or maybe she's just your new toy."

"I would be careful how you talk about my little sister, Spring. I just might lose my cool."

"You brought your little sister into _this_?!" she swept her arm to indicate the massive slaughterhouse that was happening around them. "What is wrong with you?"

"She wouldn't stay where I left her. But that isn't important. What is important is that I get you somewhere safe."

She seemed to consider the options for a few minutes. Right before Rain was about to check on her, she spoke. "Fine. I'll go with you. But you better keep me safe."

"I can only promise to try."

"Forever afraid of commitment. Classic Rai-" Spring seemed to have frozen in place for about thirty seconds. When she snapped out of it she looked absolutely terrified.

"Spring? What's wrong?"

"I can sense her. The one who killed Summer and Fall. She's in the eastern swamps. She feels so powerful. Is this what two maidens together are? It's horrible to think of what she could be with the powers of all four."

"Can you sense anything else out there? Anything that could be causing this massive invasion of grimm?"

"There is... something. It feels old. Older than humanity and the grimm. I think she's talking to it. Wait. I can see it! I don't know how, but I can see the two of them talking and debating. The creature is a giant python. But it has a small man standing in front of its eye. I think the man is like an avatar for the creature."

"What are they talking about?"

"I think you. They're talking about 'the blonde fool who broke destiny'. Something new is happening. The woman is building something with her powers. It appears to be a body. It looks like Pyrrha Nikos. The snake is leaning down to it. The snake is breathing ou- ahhh!" Spring started screaming and clutching her head. All around them the grimm stopped fighting and looked up to howl, hiss, and yell at the sky. They then turned around and fled away from the walls.

"What the hell was that?"

"Rain!" Ruby called, "I think she's in danger." Ruby was kneeling on the ground, holding Spring's head in her lap. "She just keeps groaning and writhing. What could have happened?"

Rain reached out to the east as far as he could with his aura. He felt something... new moving through the hordes of grimm. "I'm not sure, but I have a pretty good guess. We need to get her back to the safe house."

* * *

"What do you mean 'they just left'? Why would they do that?" Lucian exclaimed.

"I'm not sure why. I have an idea, but nothing solid to go on yet." Rain replied.

"What happened immediately before?"

"Spring was somehow seeing what Cinder was doing with the ancient beast. They started to build a copy of Pyrrha Nikos and that's when she cried out and collapsed."

"You know what that might mean, right?"

"Yes. And the possibility is not one I want to entertain."

"Rain, I grew up in Mistral. And in Mistral there is a myth. It's about the 'King of Pythons'. It was said that this Python was a god that could breathe life into mud to fight for him. It was said that he got the life essence from fallen warriors. That the soul of any and every warrior arrived in his celestial realm. I know it sounds stupid. But if it's true then..." Lucian trailed off, leaving the statement open-ended.

"It would explain it. If someone were brought back from the dead it would upset the natural order and cause a backlash onto Spring if she were so close. I just don't understand why Cinder would bring _her_ back."

"The legend says that the mud warriors were completely under the King's control. Maybe he'll use her as a weapon."

"Either way, we need to keep this quiet. My sister and her friends were very close to Pyrrha. They might not think things through properly."

"You're right on that one, boss." Banner materialized leaning against a wall. "Ruby told that Arc kid and now he's gone to find his girlfriend."

"What?! He'll die! Why didn't you inform me sooner?"

"Because it literally just happened. If you're quick you can probably catch him."

Rain burst out of the room at full speed. He actually left a man shaped cloud in his wake as he left.

"Well that was interesting." Banner remarked as he went to walk out of the room, his business finished there. He was stopped by a question from Lucian.

"Do you think he's changed?"

Banner stopped in his tracks and turned around. "How so?"

"He seems more in tune with his emotions than he used to. He's taking orders from those beneath him just because of familial relations. He's risking his own skin to save a small group of people. That doesn't sound like the boss to me."

"That's dangerous ground you're treading on, my friend. The boss is still committed to the mission. If it comes down to it he will make the right choice."

"Why do you believe so strongly in him?"

"Because I've seen him walk into an army of grimm and come out with barely a scratch. I've seen him sacrifice some people to save more. I've never seen him waver from the mission."

"Not even in Vacuo?"

"What do you mean?"

"He went after five people when he should have gone after the maiden. Because of his choice the enemy now has the power of two maidens. Doesn't that make you doubt his judgement?"

"That didn't happen exactly the way you're implying. There were mitigating factors: He didn't know the exact location; The monkey boy did. If we had gone looking for the maiden it could have taken us hours to check every jumble of rocks south of the city. We might have been too late anyways. He took a calculated risk."

"That just so happened to save his sister and future girlfriend. Sounds to me like his priorities are completely in order."

"Why are you trying to twist my words? You've always listened to Rain before. Why doubt him now?"

"Because I am an agent of chaos. And if there's little to no chance of getting to cause chaos..." Lucian walked to the doorway and turned to face Banner. "I will make my own." He then walked out laughing all the way. Banner was left alone with his thoughts.

* * *

 **A.N: So that was a thing. The title is a reference for all you anime fans. Strange things are happening with the grimm and the maidens. Maybe I'll explain it. Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll find a way to tease you with it. Hope you liked this chapter. I was struggling to write this one, so it ended up being a bunch of short sections. Next chapter should be dramatic what with someone new arriving on the scene.**

 **P.S: I'm sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday. As I said before I am busy with working at camp so I will have problems posting. I will be done at the end of this next week and should be able to get back to my regular schedule then.**


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Firestorm**

Jaune ran desperately ran through the streets, trying to escape from the spectre following him. It had been gaining on him for a few minutes, but Jaune was almost to the east gate of the city. If he could just get out he could find her.

Suddenly, a white blur sped past him and then a wall of ice blocked his path. He turned to face his pursuer and drew his sword while tossing his shield to the ground. As soon as the shield left him, the blade blazed with white light. His pursuer stopped a few feet away from him and held up his hands.

"Jaune, trust me: Don't do this. Whatever they created out there is not your partner. It's an abomination of nature. It shouldn't exist and it can't be trusted."

" _She_ has a name!" Jaune's eyes were now blazing with the same white fire that ran the length of his sword. "She's out there, alive! I have to go find her!"

"Jaune, you idiot! Don't you understand the risks that you are taking? Right now you are humanity's greatest weapon against the grimm. You could potentially go toe-to-toe with a maiden. What if she is under the creature's thrall? She could be ordered to kill you! Then our failure would be certain. Can't you see the danger you would put everyone else in?"

"I don't care!" Jaune swung his blade and evaporated a section of apartments on his right. "She was the first person to ever believe in me, and I let her down when she really needed me. I _loved_ her. And you want me to leave her in a grimm-infested swamp? Would you leave Blake? Or Ruby? Or Yang?"

"To secure the common good, yes. That's why I _exist_! To make the impossible decisions that no one else could. That's why my mother took me and not Yang!"

Jaune seemed perplexed. "What do you mean; 'that's why you exist'? How could your mother possibly have known that?"

Rain surged forward in the blink of an eye and threw Jaune into the wall of the building beside them. He looked down at Jaune with eyes like thunder. He crouched down, and in a deadly low voice said, "If you _ever_ mention what I just said to anyone, I will destroy you and your _entire_ family. Am I clear?"

Jaune just cowered in fear where he was. If he was the ultimate weapon against the grimm, then what the hell was Rain?

Rain repeated, in a slightly angrier voice, "Am. I. Clear?"

Jaune just nodded his head: Too afraid to even form words.

"Good. Now come back to the base and we can formulate a strategy on how to deal with this new... development."

Jaune was even more terrified now: Rain had just gone from deadly to jovial in the blink of an eye. But once again, he just nodded and started to follow Rain, picking up his shield on the way.

As they were walking from the site of their confrontation, Jaune felt a familiar aura in front of them. Before he could warn Rain, Pyrrha Nikos walked out of an alley on their left.

Rain sprung into a combat stance immediately and launched twin blasts of energy and ice at her. True to form, Pyrrha expertly used her shield to block the blasts. Before she could recover, Rain had gotten in close and he delivered two shots to her knees, causing her to collapse on the ground. Her sword fell from her grip and Rain scooped it up, pinned her arms with his knees, and held it to her throat.

"Why did Cinder bring you back, abomination?!"

"I don't know! When I woke up, I was alone in a swamp. I searched out with my aura and found the city. When I got here, I sensed Jaune's aura and tracked him down."

Rain pricked her throat with the edge of the blade until a little bit of blood was trickling out. "Not good enough. I need to know what she and the Python King have planned. I don't believe they would just bring you back without a reason. Now tell me!"

"I don't know. All I remember is getting shot and incinerated, followed by a time wandering in a haze until I awoke in the swamp. Please believe me!"

"Sorry, but I can't take that chance with the maiden and the people of this city. You have to die."

"Wait! I know how to escape your destiny!"

Rain leaned in until their noses were almost touching, "Who told you about that? Answer me!"

"I don't know. It just came to me! I'm not even sure why I said it."

"If you can't prove that you aren't a threat, I can't let you live." Rain raised the sword for a killing blow, "If it means anything, I truly am sorry that you have to experience this again."

As his stroke fell, a large rumble shook the entire city. Rain stopped his swing as a reflex to check what was going on. Another rumble happened, followed by a ringing sound from his pocket. He withdrew his scroll and answered it.

"What? But- I understand. I'll be right there. Keep as many of your people together as you can. I'll need all the power you can manage." He hung up and put his scroll away.

"Well, abomination. It looks like today is your lucky day. I don't have time to worry about you." He got off her and turned to Jaune. "We need to get to the north wall. Apparently, the creature that brought your partner back to life is now attacking the city."

Rain grabbed Jaune in a fireman carry and ran off to the north wall, leaving Pyrrha alone with her thoughts. Once they were out of sight, a form descended from the rooftops.

"Congratulations on the spectacularly terrible performance. It almost felt like you wanted to get killed. Is that true, Pyrrha? You still have such a glorious future ahead of you."

"Shut up, bitch." Pyrrha muttered under her breath.

"What was that? It doesn't matter what you personally think of me or the King of Pythons: You have to obey our commands to the letter. We brought you back for a purpose. I have no hope of getting close to the Spring maiden anymore. Too many powerful people around her. But you're friends with quite a few of them. We can reduce the world to ashes together. Each of us with the powers of two maidens would be unstoppable. Just do as I say and you can protect anyone you choose from the coming destruction."

"I will do it to protect my friends. But as soon as I get a chance, I _will_ kill you."

"Fair enough. Now it is time for you to commune with Salem." Cinder detached the floral talisman she usually wore at her waist and handed it to Pyrrha.

When Pyrrha accepted it, a holographic image of a pale woman with red and black eyes appeared. Before it said anything to her, the image turned and spoke to Cinder. "I must commune privately with our newest acquisition. Leave us."

Cinder's face was full of rage for a second before her mask of calm returned. She bowed to the hologram and said, "Of course, my mistress." She then stood up and walked down an alleyway.

The pale figure turned to Pyrrha, "Hello, Ms. Nikos. I trust that you are feeling rather disoriented after being brought back to life?"

"Yes. I was wondering how you pulled that off."

"For a Primordial with their full powers it is quite a simple trick. I just convinced an old friend who owed me a favour to do so."

"What is a... Primordial?"

"In the beginning, before humanity and grimm and faunus and animals, there were Primordials. They existed since time began in this reality. They had incredible powers which made them like gods. Over time, they created the lesser forms of life all across Remnant. Every one of them had another that they were matched with. Over time, they began to think of themselves as immortal. They didn't age and couldn't be killed. Some began acting vindictive and cruel towards their own creations. One of the Primordials, a feckless idiot who's name has been lost, decided to make a change to the way of things. He pooled together the powers of the 'good' Primordials and altered the rules of death. Now Primordials could be killed, but only with a weapon that had achieved a legendary status. To test this, he killed his partner. When he realized that the other Primordials knew what he had done, he created a vehicle to continuously change his location in both time and space. It soon became impossible to track him, so most gave up. Many still hunt him because their mates were killed due to his meddling. The Python King is one of these Primordials and I am another. As fun as history lessons are, I haven't yet gotten to your purpose."

"Please, proceed. It's not like I get a say in the matter."

"Good. Now, your job is simple: Find the Spring maiden and take her powers." A glove formed beside the hologram. "This glove should get the job done. Secondly, you are to kill Cinder and take her powers."

"Sorry, what? You want me to kill your best operative? You must be joking."

"No. Sadly, Cinder's ego is getting too big. If she were to get the powers of all four maidens, I can't be sure she would follow the plan. I need someone who would sacrifice themselves for their friends. I need someone I can trust." A blood-red dagger formed next to the glove. "This blade will absorb her powers and transfer them to you. Be careful as it is rather fragile. It can only be used once."

"I understand. But if I do this, will you ensure my friends' safety?"

"I can guarantee that they will live comfortably in my new world, so long as they don't try to rebel against me and the new order."

Pyrrha took the glove and dagger from where they floated. "I'll do it. For the sake of my friends, I will become your agent."

* * *

Jaune and Rain got to the top of the eastern wall just as the Python King slammed into it again. The scene below them sent chills down Jaune's spine. A horde of grimm was swarming outside the wall. To call it a horde actually felt like a misnomer: A sea seemed more proper. The grimm were halfway up the wall, climbing over-top of each other. Their were every variety imaginable, except for those only native to the other kingdoms, of course. And in the center of them stood a massive Python, as tall as the city walls. When they arrived, the King stopped moving and stared at Rain.

While they stood transfixed by the Python, a man flew out of it's eye and landed on top of the wall beside them. "I am known as the King of Pythons by your people. If you want me to release the souls of your dead warriors from eternal torment, you must turn the one known as Rainbow Branwen over to me. If you do so immediately, I will also spare the city from further attack. These are my terms. Do you accept?"

"No. I do not accept the terms of an ancient despot who tortures the souls of brave men and women who died to protect their loved ones." Rain responded.

"Who are you to deny a god?"

"A man with more strength than any grimm. The name is Rain Branwen."

"You would sacrifice an entire city to spite me? You are the height of human selfishness."

"Nope. I have a greater purpose than just this city. You cannot intimidate me. Now leave before I have to kill you."

"None can kill me anymore. The few that could either failed to pass on their gift or were wiped out by others like me. You have no chance."

"Jaune. Do it."

Jaune withdrew his blade and tossed his shield to Rain. Just as before, it exploded with white fire and Jaune's eyes became covered in the same flames. The Python King took a step back at this sudden development.

"King of Pythons, meet Jaune Arc: descendant of Sebastian and Madeline Arc. He wields their blade and shield."

"I destroyed the Arcs! They murdered my queen. If I missed any, I will rectify the mistake now." The King's python form suddenly lunged at the section of wall they were standing on.

"Jaune, now!"

Jaune swung his blade in a two-handed grip down towards the rapidly approaching Python. When the flames reached the creature's head, they spread across his body and started eating away at everything he was. A blood-curdling screeching could be heard from within the fire.

When the fire had eaten away the former god completely, it dripped down onto the sea of grimm. It spread among them, multiplying with each dead grimm, until a blinding sea of fire was all that could be seen outside the walls.

"Okay, Jaune. You can stop now."

Jaune seemed transfixed by the enormous amount of power he had unleashed. Suddenly he lifted his sword and started to conduct the flames. As Rain watched, he began to form a giant being of pure fire that stood with it's head among the clouds.

"JAUNE, STOP!"

Jaune turned to him and levelled his sword at Rain. White flames streaked out towards Rain from the tip. It was only through his slowdown ability that he was able to avoid it.

Rain acted quickly and slid behind Jaune, placing his shield in his open hand. Immediately, the giant of flames dispersed and Jaune collapsed on top of the wall.

"So, what have we learned today, Rain? Watch Jaune carefully when he's using his powers. Also, try not to let Jaune experiment with his powers. Oh, we also didn't need an entire city to kill him. So that's good. Anything else? Probably that I should have killed that girl instead of letting her live. I wonder if that will come back to bite me?"

Rain's scroll started buzzing after he finished his thought. "What's up? Fuck. I'll be there soon."

Rain picked up Jaune's unconscious form and sped off towards the safe house.

* * *

The scene that Rain returned to was one out of... not his nightmares, but probably somebody else's. Part of the ceiling had caved in and there was rubble everywhere. Two very still forms, one pinkish and one green, were slumped against one wall with their hands still touching. Flare was out cold, but still alive. Moria was getting bandaged up by Banner. Yang, Blake and Ruby stood around the still form of the former Spring maiden. Even from the door he could feel her lack of a soul. The most disturbing part of the scene, though, was that Cinder had been pinned to the wall with Pyrrha's spear. The spear was actually buried halfway through the concrete, it had been thrown with such force.

Rain dropped Jaune just inside the door and walked over to Banner and Moria. "Where's Lucian? I know that old wolf isn't dead yet."

"He took his pack to pursue that undead bitch."

"Who killed who, exactly?"

"The corpse pinned to the wall killed those two against the other wall after the undead warrior took away Spring's powers. Then the undead woman pulled out this weird dagger and stabbed the woman on the wall. It looked like some power transferred to the undead woman from the other one. Then the undead woman rammed the other one into the wall while she was still alive. Then she flew out through the roof."

"Dammit! I could have prevented this!"

"Boss, this ain't your fault. You couldn't have known she would come back here and hand our asses to us. To be fair, she came as an ally. It wasn't until we saw that giant fire from your position that the other one came down through the roof and they attacked us."

"But if I'd just killed her when I ran into her, none of this would have happened. Three people are now dead because of my mistake."

"It's just three people. You've watched much worse happen without interfering."

"But I knew these people. I failed them. I have to live with that forever."

"Who cares?" Flare had woken up during his conversation with Banner. "You've never grieved for the dead. What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know. I have to go check on my family."

Rain got up and walked over to where Blake and his sisters were still standing around Spring. When he got there, Ruby turned around and buried her face in his chest, tears streaming down her face. Rain just patted her head and held her with one arm. "Shh. It'll all be okay, Ruby. We'll find Pyrrha and we'll find out why she did what she did."

Yang turned to face him. "Where were you?"

"Helping Jaune protect the city from a god and then protecting the city from Jaune."

"I heard you talking to the others; Did you really have a chance to kill Pyrrha before this happened?"

"Yes. We were disturbed by the eldritch creature attempting to destroy the city. I made a poor judgement call and let her live. I didn't expect _this_ would happen."

"You're still partially responsible for this. The deaths of my friends are on your hands."

"Don't you think I know that? I made a poor decision, and I have no idea why. I've made a lot like it in the past few years, and I always made the right choice. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Nothing's wrong with you." Blake spoke for the first time, "You're actually experiencing emotions where before you didn't. You were raised by a mother who refused to let you see your own family and a headmaster who saw you as a weapon. That isn't exactly the most well-adjusted childhood."

"I guess when you put it like that, I am pretty messed up. But it still shouldn't have stopped me from killing that girl. She was an affront to the very rules of nature. Now she's even more dangerous to any in her way. I just hope we can protect the Winter maiden. Do we have Spring's daggers still?"

"Yeah. They're still in the lock-box you put them in when you came back with her. Why?"

"Because even if we fail in regards to protecting the maidens, their weapons can still help us. Ozpin explained it to me a long time ago. The weapons are connected to a specific maiden's power. They can be used to find the next maiden or the current one. With all of them, we could track Pyrrha wherever she goes. Oz gave me the Fall Staff when she was attacked and we picked up Summer's sword and shield in Vacuo. With Spring's daggers, we almost have the full set."

* * *

Pyrrha streaked across the sky, using the relic as a map. She was exuberant in her new powers. The feeling was beyond description.

When she arrived at the cave, she landed and walked in. She was surprised at the end to realize that she knew where she was. As a pale figure rose out of the shadows, she spoke, "This is the Cave of Fate, isn't it?"

The pale figure seemed taken aback by Pyrrha's understanding of their location. "That particular story is all but forgotten in Remnant. I did that on purpose, but still. Might I ask what version you know?"

"Of course. Long ago there lived a great warrior who had defeated scores of grimm without ever losing or taking a hit. One night, he returned home to find that his wife had been killed by a grimm that had snuck past the village walls. He felt devastated that even though he was undefeated, he still couldn't protect the one he loved most. He no longer saw the point in his power and walked off into the wilderness to die. After a time, he had travelled most of the world, but still hadn't died. One day, he got caught in a snowstorm and took shelter in a cave. When he examined the cave, he saw that it went back further than he had ever expected. He followed the tunnel all the way to the end, where he found a mosaic displaying the world's history. He was confused until a woman garbed in purple and black with skin whiter than snow appeared to him. She explained that the mosaic displayed the important moments in history where individuals had changed the course of history. She then showed him to a section that displayed his own accomplishments. He saw that his strength had not only saved his own people, but also many more villages besides. She then showed him the current part of the mosaic. It displayed two different futures to the warrior: One where he continued to wander and mankind suffered greatly, and one where he returned to his original place and became a great light to inspire hope and breathe fire into the hearts of the weary. The man asked her why they kept changing between the two. She responded that it was because he still had to decide what he would do. The man thought hard about his own wants and desires versus the amount of people that could be saved if he set aside his own feelings. He eventually decided to return to the world and save it from the grimm as much as he could."

"That _would_ be the story told by your people. The truth is slightly more complex. The warrior's wife was actually slain by another warrior who was jealous of him. The actual reason he started to wander was because he no longer saw the point in protecting those who would destroy his happiness. Also, as you may have guessed, I was the woman from the story, that much is true. But where it gets different is that the scene of his return showed that he would go through even greater suffering than before. He would lose everything to save the people and die alone. The other possible future showed him happy with a new family and dying at a ripe old age, surrounded by his loved ones. As much as I despise humanity, I liked this warrior and tried to persuade him to accept the better future for himself. He had done enough for the people of Remnant; they could find another saviour. Eventually, my counterpart showed up and told the man to fight for the future of the world instead of his own future. He convinced the man to leave and go to his death despite everything I told him would happen. Decades later, a battle took place in the mountain pass outside this cave. The warrior was the only one left alive on either side of the battle, but he was gravely wounded. He managed to get to this spot and then he collapsed. I appeared to him and asked him why he had done so much when he new what the outcome would be. He told me that he had actually managed to change the mosaic of fate through sheer force of will. I looked and saw that he had indeed changed things. He had found a new family and had been truly happy again. It also showed that he no longer died alone, for I was there with him. He was one of the few humans who had managed to change his fate and become happy. I am stuck communing through this cave and certain artifacts however, and could not spread the rest of the story. The version you know was spread by my counterpart to encourage humans to be self-sacrificing. He did so because he knew that was the only way to make them fight his battles, the coward."

"Who was your counterpart?"

"He was known by many names. He was the wizard in the tale of the four maidens and he was your headmaster at Beacon. Ozpin is one of the most manipulative bastards I've ever met, and he deserves to watch everything he has built burn."

* * *

 **A.N: So, people are dead. Many people. At least some died together. Haha... In all seriousness, though, I am sorry for killing such a sweet pair. But death has to happen in order for the good guys to know what the stakes truly are. And killing someone who could basically just power up continually from Rain's weapons until she was a goddess of power had to happen. But at least Cinder's dead. Please don't hate me for what I had to do.**

 **P.S: For the next few chapters I will be writing them as backstories for the Soldiers we've met so far except Rain. When you meet the other two Soldiers, I'll do their backstories as well as Rain's.**


	19. From man to Ghost

**From man to Ghost**

When I was born I did not plan on one day becoming a legendary killer. Quite the contrary, I wanted to be a doctor. I guess life doesn't always work out the way we want.

* * *

My tale begins when I was a student in the field of pharmacology. My professors were honourable men who sought to develop a cure for everything. They believed there was no disease that couldn't be cured.

My favourite professor was Dr. Malcolm Finch. He was from a wealthy family and could have chosen to go into their business easily. Instead he chose to be a doctor and help those who couldn't help themselves. He taught me the dangers that any medicine could also be a poison. With his guidance I felt sure I could save many. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case.

During my final examination, some White Fang attacked the university. Their target was Dr. Finch. Apparently, his family's company had been using Faunus labour and the White Fang wanted to put an end to it. Their plan was to kill him to send a message. When they burst onto the campus, we all quickly fled to a special shelter made to defend against grimm. Along the way, me and Dr. Finch were separated from our group and we hit a dead end hallway.

I was panicking, but Dr. Finch remained calm. He pulled out a syringe and turned to me.

"Banner," he said, "this is a special chemical cocktail of my own invention. It can trigger someone's semblance without going through the usual physical aspect. But it also does something else. It can cause you to have a specific semblance. I can't use it myself, but you can. Live, Banner. And continue our work."

Before I could comprehend his words, he stuck the syringe in my neck and injected me. It felt like fire was coursing through my veins and I collapsed on the floor. When I stood up, Dr. Finch was looking around as if I weren't there. I realized that my semblance was now a type of chameleon state.

As I started to wonder exactly what he had mixed together to produce this, White Fang grunts turned the corner and came forward to drag him to their leader. They all completely ignored me, so I followed them, hoping for a chance to save Dr. Finch.

They came to the front of the building, where a young bull faunus was standing with an aura-cutting blade. I watched, silent and unseen, as they brought Dr. Finch forward and pushed him to his knees. He never cried out or begged for mercy. He just stared into their leader's eyes right up to the moment he was beheaded.

After that, the White Fang just left. Content that they had finished their mission.

* * *

By the time the military got to the university, I had managed to barricade myself in a classroom in order to explain how I survived. As we were all brought to a hospital, I started to consider what I could do with the gift that had been given to me by my mentor. I knew that there had to be something I could do with my power, but I didn't know what.

It wasn't until about a year later that I found out what I could do with my ability.

* * *

I was walking past an alley when I heard a muffled scream and some cursing. I activated my semblance and went down the alley. Around a corner were two men holding down a woman. Anyone could see what they had planned. I knew I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. So I grabbed a piece of metal off the ground and bashed their brains in. It wasn't what I had meant to do, but I couldn't stop myself.

The woman looked around for whatever had protected her from her assailants. I dropped my camouflage, which upon consideration, was not the smartest idea given that I was splattered with blood and holding a twisted piece of metal soaked in it.

When the woman saw me she ran away screaming "ghost" and "spectre". I was more than a little freaked out and so I ran. In hindsight, that probably didn't help anything.

When I got home I checked the news and found that my story been quite sensationalized by the media. According to the woman I had saved: she had been assaulted by two men in an alley when a spectre of someone who had been horribly slaughtered savagely beat them to death. The ghost had then given her a sardonic smile and she had run away.

The police could find no D.N.A evidence at the scene and the story of an avenging ghost spread like wildfire throughout Vacuo. I later discovered that any hair or dead skin that I shed while invisible stayed invisible, which explained the lack of evidence. I now fully understood what I could do with my gift.

* * *

A few months later I had already created my killer chemicals and invested in some combat armour. Fully equipped, I set out and started eliminating prominent criminals in the capital. Eventually though, people started working to hunt down "The Ghost", as I was called. Mostly criminals, but a few huntsmen as well.

I had to go on the run to protect my friends from those who hunted me. Everything was going well; No one seemed to be able to track me. I thought I was safe. It's amazing how often we think that, isn't it?

One day I got back to my desert camp only to find a young girl sitting and tending my fire. I approached her and, when I got within reach of her, I was immediately beset upon by ten people. I had no time to process what had just happened, so I lashed out on instinct. When the dust settled, everyone else was dead and I was down eleven syringes.

I searched them to find out which piece of scum had sent them after me. I found out that they were all huntsmen and huntresses. Which now officially made me a criminal. I realized that no matter who I killed, this would always make me a target for hunters. So I made a decision: I reached out to some people in the criminal underground and told them that the Ghost was looking for work.

At first nobody took it seriously; they sent me all the crazy jobs that were too dangerous to do. But I did them. Eventually, people realized I _was_ the person who had become a legendary assassin within his first year doing the job. They started handing me more and more jobs. After a certain point, I didn't care who I killed, so long as I got paid. It was a dark path.

* * *

One day, a few months later, I received the job that would change my life.

I was sitting in the backroom of a little shit-heap of a bar. All of a sudden, this man in a green suit and wearing a fedora sat down across from me. He seemed very practised and at ease sitting across from a known killer. He even gave off a feeling of death and trickery. I knew this man was someone I did not want to upset.

He didn't say a word to me; he just slid me an envelope, got up and walked out of the bar.

When I opened the envelope, there was a stack of credits and a note with a location and time. It didn't say who I was supposed to kill, just the time and place. Maybe he just wanted everybody there dead. It wasn't odd request. I had received a few before. But something about it bothered me.

When I arrived at the building it was totally dark. I activated my semblance and climbed up to the roof to sneak in through a skylight or something. I searched the whole building- top to bottom- and found nothing. When I went to check the basement, a cage descended from the ceiling above me and I was caught.

After about a minute, the basement door opened and the man who had hired me strolled out, along with a kid who looked about fourteen and wore a grimm mask like I had never seen. They stopped about five feet from the cage and the man spoke.

"So, Rain, do you think he would be a good candidate?"

"Candidate for what?" I shouted at them.

"I think so, Oz. I mean, he missed all the other traps and didn't even seem to notice."

I froze in fright: That name rang a bell in my head.

"Hey! Are you Professor Ozpin? From Beacon?"

The man held his head with one hand, "Thank you for doing that, Rain. Shall I tell him your real name next?"

The kid got pretty steamed at that one, "If you ever tell anyone that, I will choke you with your own spinal cord!"

"Wouldn't that be strangulation? I mean, choking is what you do whether you're being attacked or not. I think that 'strangle' was the word you were looking for."

"Excuse me!" I tried to get their attention, "But why do you want me? I'm a nobody. I'm a low level assassin who isn't even affiliated with any particular crime family. I'm worthless to you."

"Oh, now I wouldn't that. You're a very useful man. Either as Dr. Banner: the pharmacologist, or as The Ghost: the being who has toppled crime empires because he was having a bad day."

"How do you know about me, Ozpin?"

"I know about you the same way I know you got your semblance chemically and not by birth. I helped Dr. Finch create that serum and I've been following you ever since that day. Originally the serum was supposed to be used on a child to make them a tiny weapon that our enemies never see coming. But I think you worked out just as well."

"That still doesn't tell me what you want me for!"

"I thought you said this guy was smart, Oz." the kid spoke up, "I mean, if he can't see what we're offering, what's the point in him?"

Ozpin turned to me, "You have two paths in front of you right now. You can wither go to trial or join my group of soldiers; either rot in jail or help your fellow man. What will be your decision?"

"Why is the kid here?"

"He will be your new leader if you accept. Disrespect him at your own peril."

"Well, I guess if you've got room for an evil spirit, I'll join up. What the hell, right?"

* * *

That day changed my path forever. I started killing just the bad guys again. And it turns out that taking the job saved my life. I learned later that the job I was about to take before I got caught was all an elaborate ruse to capture and kill me. Some other poor schmuck took the job instead and that was the end of that. But if I'd known how this would turn out at the end, I would have picked jail time to spare myself from the hell we unleashed.

* * *

 **A.N: So I know this is shorter than the past dozen chapter, but I really didn't know how to expand more on Banner. He was a simple character. Actually kind of one-dimensional if I'm being honest. Anyways, I hope you enjoy. The next one should be about Flare.**


	20. Everyone Flares Up Once in a While

**Everyone Flares Up once in a while**

As I hit the hard concrete, I heard my father's voice commanding me to stop crying and get back up. I could also hear my brother's mocking laughter from across the training room. I got up and got into a ready stance, facing my father, fists raised. Before I could focus, a flying haymaker struck the side of my head and I went down again.

"You know, Flare," my brother called from across the room, "you could just activate your aura to prevent the blows from hitting you. Oh wait," he sucked in his breath through his teeth, "that's right: you don't have enough aura to protect yourself in a fight. So little aura, in fact, that you don't even have a semblance. What must it feel like to be the child of two legends and be almost useless? That must sting. I wonder how such a waste of space could even bear to live."

"Roman, enough!" my father shouted, "If you think she's so useless, why don't you fight her?"

"Okay, then. I'd love the chance to really give it to this brat."

While my brother walked into the center of the ring, I smiled inwardly: this would be so much easier than our father.

"Okay. I want a good fight, you two. But no mutilations! You got that?"

"Yes, father." we responded simultaneously.

"One. Two. BEGIN!"

My brother immediately tried to deliver a roundhouse kick from his left. He thought it would surprise me. But I had already leapt back and out of his reach.

"Come on, sis. You can't just dodge all the time. You actually have to at least _try_ to hit someone once in a while. You chose dad's job. You knew that meant getting your hands dirty."

Before he could say another word, I dashed up to him and delivered a swift uppercut. He reeled back, stunned. Before he knew it, I had him shoved face-down on the concrete with his right arm twisted almost to the breaking point.

My father walked over, clapping, and squatted down beside my brother's head. "You know, Roman? The only reason your little sister can't beat me is because I have an unfair advantage over her. I taught her everything she knows _and_ my aura helps me out. If it were just the two of us fighting, without knowing each other and without using aura, I don't know if I would win.

"Alternatively, when it comes to you, you have nothing that sets you apart from all the other two-bit criminals out there. I know. I've met a lot. You neglect combat training because you think that someone else will always be doing the fighting while you sit back and laugh. In our world there are wolves and sheep. And you are certainly no wolf. I feel ashamed to call you my son."

That was not the first time my father had made his thoughts about my brother clear. But it was the first time he had made the disparity between the two of us clear.

* * *

It wasn't until I was fifteen that my father started sending me out on contracts for my mother. It started out with low-level enforcers and information brokers. But eventually he started amping them up. The targets became high level members of other crime syndicates and the causes of death had to be a bit more spectacular.

One job I worked involved me not knowing who the target was. I was sent to scope out the headquarters of a rival gang. I was given a full complement of weapons including a bandolier of grenades, four different types of dust pistol, twelve knives in random locations around my body, and two SMGs. Whatever I had been sent to do, it was going to get messy.

I was sitting on a rooftop a few buildings over and across the street when I saw something that chilled me to the bone.

An armoured truck pulled up in front of the building. Three very large men jumped out and went around to the back. When they opened the doors, three more men jumped out of the back, carrying a man between them with a sack over his head. For some strange reason (it seemed really cliche, to be honest) they took the sack off right before they took him inside. The man they had captured was my stupid brother.

I was signalled by my father shortly after. His message only said one word: Everyone.

I got up off the roof and made my way to their front door. I decided to send a message to anyone else that would dare to come after my family. When I got to the door, I pulled out a special explosive of my own design (strictly speaking, I shouldn't have brought it with me). I placed it on the door and let it work it's magic.

It started out by spreading eight arms over the door. Then the arms and the core melted into the door. When it had sunk in about halfway and the rest of the door underneath was partially melted, it finally exploded. The doors were flung inwards in eight pieces, followed by a massive fireball.

I pulled on some thermal goggles to penetrate the dust cloud, took out my SMGs with aura-piercing rounds, stepped through what had been the door, and got to work.

There were ten people in the lobby when I entered. I wasted twelve bullets taking them out. I searched the rest of the building and killed at least fifty more people. I exhausted my aura-piercing ammo, all but one of my grenades, half of my knives, and almost all of my pistols' dust rounds. When I got to the final room I felt more than a little apprehension.

I kicked open the door and rolled my last grenade just inside to cause a distraction. I would have thrown it all the way, but I didn't feel like killing my brother just yet.

Inside were twelve men and my brother. I opened fire and got three headshots before they started returning fire. I dove behind an overturned table and managed to kneecap another three before I ran out of ammo.

I waited until they stopped to reload, got up, and managed to nail two with my knives before the others reloaded and I had to duck behind cover again. I was about to attempt a roll to the side when I heard a raised voice.

"Hold your fire!" I immediately heard all of the gunmen stop, "To whoever it is that has emptied my building: What the hell?"

"It's my mission. You know how it is." I responded from my position.

"Assassin's aren't usually this... chaotic. Normally you people are pretty stealthy."

"My orders just said to kill everyone. I was outfitted by my employer with the weapons they wanted me to use."

"But this is a little overkill, don't you think? Even for a sweep job this is a bit much."

"Well, it is a bit more personal than just a job."

"How so?"

"I received the job from my father. Can't let him down."

"Yeah, I feel ya. But I can't let my old man down either. See, he trusted me to hold down the fort while he's on vacation. If we got taken out by one person while he was gone, that old bastard would find a way to bring me back to life just to kill me again. So you can see the bind I'm in."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I've still gotta kill you though."

"That would be a neat trick. See, I know for a fact that you don't have any bullets or explosives left. I'm willing to bet that you only have a couple knives too. So what can we do to solve this? Because I have no doubt that you would kill all of us. But I know you would die in the process."

"And why would you think that? I haven't gotten hit once while I was emptying the building. For all you know, I've got a lot of aura stockpiled to protect me from your shots. I could walk out of here without a scratch."

"That's true. You could have aura stored up. But I don't think you do. See, I was watching you on the cameras while you fought your way through my people. I've seen a lot of assassins come through here and none of them have been as careful as you. They've all been _careful_ , of course, but all of them took several hits while they did their work. You, however, have not taken a single bullet, cut, or punch while you've killed sixty of my men. That leads me to believe that you don't have the ability to stockpile a lot of aura at all. Am I wrong?"

"Yes and no." I needed an out, but I had nothing left except four knives. I needed to get creative. Then I remembered that I was ducked behind an overturned table.

"What does that mea-" He was cut off by the table flying across the room. I had used all of my aura pool to send it his way, but it was my only choice. In the immediate confusion that followed, I was able to take down the three remaining gunmen. As I walked over to where the leader was pinned under the table, it started to shake.

I took a step back and held up my last knife in a defensive position. The table was blasted apart from underneath by a cascade of light. The man underneath got to his feet, dusted himself off, and then sent a blast straight towards me. As I dodged, I noticed that he seemed to bend the light from all light sources around him into the beam.

"You know, I would've let you live. I was really starting to feel a connection with you. But no! You had to throw a table at me! So now this is happening."

With those words, a spear of light lanced through my shoulder and pinned me to the wall. The man walked up to me and started to stab me with little pinpricks of light all over my body, trying to elicit a fear response.

Entertained as he was with torturing me, he didn't notice my brother sneak up behind him. Roman had freed himself from his bonds and pulled one of my knives out of a corpse. He came up behind the man and stabbed him thirty-seven times in the back.

When the man died, the spear dispersed and I was released from the wall. I slid down and let out a sigh.

"So you were sent to rescue me?" Roman asked me. "Didn't think mom and dad cared that much."

"I was already on assignment here. You just happened to be captured around the same time. Speaking of which," I pulled out my scroll, "I should probably let dad know that I'm done."

"Hello?"

"Hey, dad. I finished the mission. I even managed to save my idiot brother while I was at it."

The line was dead for several seconds. "The mission was for you to kill everyone in the building, sweetheart. That includes your brother. I'm sorry, kid. He's been too much of a screw-up in the past few years. I'm sorry to make you do this."

"I get it. I'll see that it gets done. See you back at home."

"So what did the old man think?"

"He told me to kill you. Doesn't mean I will. We just need to find a way to fake your death and move you out of the kingdom."

"Why would you do that? We hate each other."

"Doesn't mean I want you dead."

I managed to make it look like Roman had perished in the building. It wasn't hard to do since I just burned the place down. It wasn't until several months later that my destiny was changed forever.

* * *

I had just returned from a mission to find that my family's compound had been attacked.

I ran inside to find bodies strewn everywhere, some torn apart, some frozen solid, and some with severe burns. It was a slaughterhouse, but I couldn't see any signs of my parents. I dashed through the halls to our ballroom. The ballroom was the most defensible position, so I figured that's where they'd be. When I got there, I froze.

My mother was impaled on a group of icicles and made to look like some macabre piece of art. Our elite guards had been embedded in the walls by someone with incredible strength. My father was in a fight for his life in the center of the room.

There only appeared to be two people besides him in the room. One was a... feral faunus and the other was a teenager around fifteen. The kid was the one fighting my father; the faunus was just moving around the room, defacing any art he could find and laughing all the way.

The fight was ended when my father took a misstep and the teen swept in and gripped him around the throat, lifting him up in the air and off his feet.

"You really could have made this a lot easier on yourself, Malcolm." the boy spoke to my father, "I just wanted some information and I would have been on my way. But you had to be difficult. And now look at what you've wrought! Your house in ruins, your people destroyed! And for what? Your damn pride! Where has that gotten you?"

The kid squeezed and crushed my father's neck like a vice. I ran forward and tried to stick a knife in his back, but my arm was caught by the faunus. I grabbed a knife with my other hand and stabbed him in the thigh. He let go of my arm and I charged towards the kid.

The kid didn't even turn around, but suddenly I was encased in ice from the waist down. The boy slowly turned around to face me. He was startlingly handsome for one so young.

"You must be the daughter we were told about. I'm curious: Why did you wait until everyone else had died before you came out to attack us? Are you a coward or did your parents tell you to hide?"

"Neither, you bastard! I just got back from a job to find you and your pet had killed everyone I'd ever known or loved!"

"A job, you say? You're pretty young to be going out on jobs. That must mean you're very skilled. This might seem a bit odd, given the circumstances, but would you be willing to work for the good guys instead?"

"Is there something wrong with you? I try to kill you and you offer me a job?"

"Nah." the faunus spoke up for the first time, "That's just how the kid is. He's powerful and a little bit nuts. I'm a mass-murdering lunatic and I was his first recruit."

"So, if I were interested, what is your group's end goal?"

"As stupid as it sounds, we're here to save the world."

* * *

It wasn't long after that that I was sent to Vacuo to work with Banner. I can't say that I enjoyed that; I thought I would be working closely alongside Rain. But my time as a Soldier has taught me that good and evil are just words. It is the person behind the action that makes something either.

* * *

 **A.N: So Flare's is done. Just wanted to show a few things from her twisted upbringing. I'm also using these to set something up for later. If I can do it right, it should be pretty cool.**


	21. Blood and Ink

**Blood and Ink**

My story is- as Rain would say- pretty uninteresting. I discovered my semblance at an early age and it was the source of my salvation.

I grew up in Atlas. I was deemed "mentally gifted" as a child and my parents sent me to a school designed to train strategists. It was meant to be a great honour. It was a bit different from what I expected.

I was told that it would be a mentally stimulating environment where a staff of trained professionals would help to enhance my natural mental strengths. What I got was a boot camp for children with drill sergeants who cared more about our combat abilities than our mental ones. Disobedient children spent time in solitary.

One day they started to give us identification tattoos. I was not very receptive to that idea. I became very anxious. I started to scream when the needle approached my skin, then everything went black.

When I came to, all the tattoo artists and several of the officers were impaled on black spears made of ink. The other children seemed to have all fled while I was comatose. I decided that now would be my only chance to flee from the oppressive regime I had been volunteered for.

* * *

After I fled the compound, I managed to survive for awhile by using any ink I could find to mug people until I could gather enough money to flee the kingdom. I was able to pay off a cargo ship captain for passage to Vale.

When I got to Vale, I attempted to make money any way possible. At first, that meant pick-pocketing and muggings. I used some of my money to put tattoos all over my body, just in case. Eventually, certain criminal elements made notice of me and made use of me as a prizefighter.

During my time fighting, I came across twin fighters who gave me enough of a run for my money that I was forced to use my semblance during the fight. It was the first time I had done so and the audience was thrilled. Once I had activated it, I quickly won the fight.

While I was in my locker room, my sponsor came in. He was a fair man, but he looked pissed. I had worked for him for quite a while, but I hadn't told him about my semblance. He saw it as a betrayal of trust. I found that quite odd, seeing as everything we were doing was criminal in some regard.

He got angry and violent when I mentioned that he had never inquired about my semblance before. I got scared and nearly killed him with my semblance. I ran before he could wake up.

I used my money to flee once again. This time I headed for Vacuo. I had heard that it was a much more... law-less place than the other kingdoms and I believed my life could be better there.

* * *

Once I arrived in Vacuo, I quickly established roots in the criminal underground. There I met several deadly and crazy people. Among them was a man who went by the moniker: Ghost of the Desert. He was an agreeable man, despite being an assassin. He and I developed a mutual appreciation for each-others' strengths.

I did not choose the life of a killer-for-hire, as the Ghost did. With my strategist training, I put a group together and started robbing banks. We saw moderate success for awhile, but eventually everything went pear-shaped.

We were making a get-away from our job when people started disappearing. Our typical escape plan was to all go different directions, with some of the take, and meet up later. We normally kept in touch during the escape, in case someone was cornered and needed help. But people started dropping off the comm rapidly. When the last one of my men failed to respond, I started getting worried.

I started sensing someone following me. A presence of immeasurable power and death. It was soon followed by a feeling of insanity and hunger. Whoever was following me was more dangerous than anyone I had ever come across. I knew that I would have to make a stand sooner rather than later. All that was left was for me to decide where I wanted to die.

I kept running down alleyways until I found what I was looking for. I rushed inside a tattoo parlour and waited for them to come to me.

When they finally strolled in, I was impressed: a young teenager was the one who had produced the feeling of power and death, whereas a feral faunus had created insanity and hunger. I felt fine knowing that these two would be my killers.

"Hello there, Moria." the boy seemed to be the one in charge, "I just wanted to meet you in person. I mean, you're one of the most brilliant strategists I've ever heard of, but you're absolutely wasted in bank-robberies."

"I assume that means you have a better idea."

"Of course. But first, don't you want to know how we tracked you down?"

"I was wondering that. But the Ghost disappeared a couple weeks ago after taking a mysterious job. I figured that you had captured him and made him tell you about anyone of note that he knew."

"That's close. He's actually working for me now, as I hope you will soon. Otherwise, I'll have to send you to trial or, alternatively, back to Atlas."

"How?"

"We know everything about you. Well, not _everything_. But I know members of the Atlesian military. They shared their records of anyone with your particular abilities. I couldn't find record of you anywhere else, and you know the old saying: know thy enemy."

"What do you want me for, exactly?"

"I've been tasked with putting together a team of criminals to protect the innocents. We're kind of like soldiers: we are supposed to make the hard decisions. My superiors felt that only criminals had the ability to make those decisions. So, what do you say? Can you turn your back on crime to protect those who would scorn you, and follow the command of a teenager?"

"That's not a very convincing argument."

"My mother taught me not to speak in half-truths. She felt it was best to always be straight with people."

"Good thing, too. If you always tell me the facts, I'll follow you on your crusade. It's better than going back to Atlas."

* * *

It wasn't long after that that I was sent to Mistral with Lucian. He was an interesting partner. He came very close to leaving several times, but every time he was about to, Rain showed up with a crazy, violent mission for him. That always seemed to tithe Lucian over for awhile. I'm still unsure whether or not we are doing any good, but we are doing something.

* * *

 **A.N: I'm sorry these have been short, but they are just meant to show a few aspects of each Soldier's life. This one might also read very straightforward, if that's the right word. That's because Moria is supposed to be a very analytical and emotionless character. Partially due to her childhood and partly due to her nature. One more and then it's back to the main story.**


	22. Blood-Stained Fur

**Blood-Stained Fur**

My story begins in a swamp. It was a terrible place, but it was mine. My mother abandoned me because she was a human, didn't know that her husband had been a faunus, saw my... deformities when I was born, screamed, and left me to die in a swamp. Fortunately for me, nature had other plans: I was found by a she-wolf.

The she-wolf saw me as just a really ugly wolf cub. Unlike humans and faunus, an animal will not abandon a child just because it is ugly. She took me in and raised me with her own pups. I learned to fight with them and, for awhile, I thought I _was_ a wolf. That all came crashing down when a bunch of huntsmen swept through on a mission to eliminate my pack.

My pack had apparently become a pest to some local farmers. They got together enough money to pay for a bounty on the wolves. While the huntsmen slaughtered my pack, they found me. They gave me a name and took me with them in order to attempt to make me civilized.

They were able to teach me how to behave like a member of society and, in time, I started learning how to be a huntsman. But I never forgot what my "rescuers" had done to the only family I had ever known. In time, they all had unfortunate accidents. When they were all dead, I returned to my swamp and found another pack.

At first, the other pack didn't want to accept me; I was too much like a person for them. So I challenged their alpha to a fight and split his stomach open. After that, the pack had no trouble accepting me as the leader. This all happened before I reached the age of ten.

* * *

I ran with the pack for the next fifteen years, wrecking any settlements we came across and adding other packs to ours. We eventually got big enough that I decided we should be able to take on the capital city. We were treading our bloody path through the settlements when I was stopped by a child, no older than I had been when I became alpha.

The child was accompanied by a man and a woman, but he was the one who stopped me. He unleashed a wave of ice that impaled my pack and entrapped me. The boy then turned to the two adults behind him.

"Was that good, mom? Ozpin?"

"That was perfect, Rain." The man crouched down to look him in the eye. "But why did you keep him alive?"

"Because I want to know why he's done this. Also, he's a person, not a monster."

"You want to know why I do this?" I asked the boy.

"Yes. I very much would like to know."

"How old are you, boy?"

"Ten."

"By your age I had already killed several people and the former alpha of this pack."

"Cool. But that doesn't answer my question."

"Okay. I was shunned by my own family and left to die in the woods, taken in by wolves, who treated me as their own, and taken by the huntsmen who slaughtered that pack. Those huntsmen then started training me to become one of them. While they did so, I slowly arranged accidents for them. When I had gotten vengeance for my old pack, I sought out a new one and killed their alpha, making _me_ the new alpha. All of that is why I do not particularly like humans or faunus and wish to cause as much chaos as possible for the people who **slaughtered** **my** **family!** "

The boy turned back to the man. "I think he's perfect for the job, don't you?"

"You can't honestly be suggesting a psychopath for our first recruit."

"Well, second recruit, technically. But more to the point, he is _exactly_ what you told me we need. Here is an individual who, for all intents and purposes, would be put to death by 'normal' people. He has no other option for his future. He's powerful and could easily sacrifice the few to save the many. I want him."

The man turned to the woman, "Raven, please tell him that this is crazy. My intention for the Soldier program was not this."

"I think he is capable of choosing his own subordinates. If he wants a psychotic wolf as his first underling, that is his decision and he will learn to live with whatever consequences arise."

"He is ten! Why should he be capable of such decisions at ten?!"

"As I recall, you were the one who felt Rain was ready to go on missions. You can't blame anyone else if it backfires on you."

The man turned back to the boy, "Is this really what you want, Rain? He may turn out to be too much for you to handle."

"I think he is absolutely what is needed for the Soldier program. Your specifications were-"

"Yes, I know what they were. It's just that this man might fit those specifications too well. He seems dangerously unstable. What if he kills you? I don't want to take that risk."

"I think I can handle him, Oz."

"Okay. I guess he can be a Soldier, then."

"Do I not get a say in this?" I brought their attention back to me.

"Oh, right." Rain said, "Would you like to serve under me as a Soldier? The alternative is to go to trial and receive the ultimate punishment."

"What does being a Soldier entail?"

"Fighting bad guys to protect innocents. If those bad guys happen to be protected by the law, we punish them anyway. It doesn't matter what the costs are, we will stop those who do evil."

"Sounds like it could be fun. I accept."

* * *

After that, Rain and I went on several missions with his mother and uncle as an escort. Evidently, they didn't trust me to be alone with a child and not kill it. Which is fair enough: I've killed whole families before.

After a time, we started recruiting others. Rain went with Oz to find a Ghost. Then he and I found Moria. After we found Flare, I was posted in Mistral with Moria. It was a boring time. We received mostly recon missions, but every once in a while Rain would show up and give me a mission that reminded me of the good old days: Slaughtering a building full of people, burning down a hospital. There was always something "good" attached to the act, but I didn't care. Rain enjoyed it too. He laughed alongside me while covered in blood.

He's changed, though. Since he found his family, he seems to have grown more... tame. I may have to leave the Soldiers soon: His temerity is sure to send us down the path of order, a path I cannot walk.

* * *

 **A.N: So Lucian's a little nuts. As they say in Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Cool motive, still a crime. The next chapter is back to the main story. Huzzah!**


	23. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Doubts and Fears**

After they built a grave for Spring, Ren, and Nora, the Soldiers, Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Jaune all boarded the yacht to wait for Lucian. No one was in a particularly talky mood, but they still had some fallout to deal with.

Nocturne kept sending them messages about the grimm just being... gone. It seemed that after the fire from Jaune's sword had swept through the grimm in front of the walls, it had snaked through the waters across Mistral and either killed or scared off every grimm on the continent. Rain made a note to test exactly how powerful Jaune was once they were on the way to Atlas.

Everyone was taking the time they had to rest and recuperate. Jaune was still unconscious and resting in one of the rooms below decks. Ruby had locked herself in a room and refused to talk with anyone. Yang was destroying dummies on the training deck. The Soldiers had gone to the weights section and seemed unperturbed by the situation. Rain was on the command deck to receive any messages from the city or Lucian, and Blake was there to watch him in case he went over the edge.

"For the last time, Nocturne:" Rain was speaking into a scroll while spinning in a chair, "I don't know how they were able to get the drop on four of the most dangerous individuals on the planet, five hunters in training, and a maiden. There's no way to explain it except that we were all very tired and not expecting an attack from a freaking ghost."

"That's no excuse, Rain. Your job was-"

Rain slammed his fist on a table and stood up, interrupting her as he did. "My job?! I'm sorry, but do you even know what my job was? Are you in charge of me? No?! I didn't think so! I have been doing the best I can given the situation! You, on the other hand, leapt to blame _me_ because you couldn't keep your own city from panicking and summoning even more grimm to your walls! So what the hell was your job if mine was supposed to be protecting every goddamn person in Remnant?!"

The line was dead for several minutes until, "I'm sorry, Rain. I forgot just how much of a burden you bore. I think we're all just scared here."

"Damn straight. You know, better than most, what the stakes are in this war. Everyone should be afraid. Everyone should be terrified, actually. But that would only draw more grimm, wouldn't it? I'm off to Atlas as soon as my final soldier returns. I trust you to stabilize Mistral while I do so."

"Why not leave now? One person can't make that much of a-"

"Let me cut you off right there. Lucian is the strongest of the Soldiers, second only to me. I need him by my side if we're going to face someone with the powers of, possibly, all four Maidens. Now that I think about it, there is something you can do for me. Since your kingdom is now free of grimm, I need you to send people to Vale, Atlas, and establish a safe corridor between them."

"Why?"

"We need the CCTS tower in Vale up and running. More to the point: _I_ need it up and running. When I find Pyrrha, and if she gets the Winter Maiden's powers, I will need everything we have to take her down. To that end: We need to get communications working between the kingdoms. Atlas built the damn towers, so they should be able to rebuild the one in Vale. Do what you can. Please."

"Okay, Rain. I'll see what I can do."

Rain let out a pent-up breath. "Thank you. I'll try and make contact with Ironwood when I arrive in Atlas and pass the message on to him. Rain out."

Rain collapsed back into his chair and covered his face with his hands, letting out a tired groan as he did so. Blake walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. Rain took his hands off his face and looked up at her.

"Thanks."

"Why don't we go stop Yang from destroying all the training dummies on board?"

"Yeah. Yeah we should do that." he stood up and took her by the hand, "Let's go."

* * *

"Stupid!" Yang punched the head off a dummy.

"Idiot!" She punched another one in half.

"What is wrong with you?!" She punched one in the chest and utterly incinerated it.

"You should cut your brother some slack." a voice said from the air around her, "It's not completely his fault."

"I wasn't talking about him, Banner."

"Oh."

"I should have protected everyone better. It's my responsibility!"

"And why is that?" Banner became visible in front of Yang, "You know you can't even beat most of the Soldiers. So why is it still your responsibility to protect your friends?"

"Because I'm the oldest! I have to protect my family!"

"Actually, sis," Rain cut in as he walked down to the training deck, "I'm older by two minutes."

"Like that matters."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You weren't around!"

"So that means I'm disqualified from the responsibility?"

"Yes- no- I don't know." Yang stormed off to her room.

"Well," everyone turned to see Lucian and five wolves standing on the lower deck, "That was fun to watch."

Rain jumped down to the first deck. "I assume you couldn't find her then?"

"Sorry boss. I couldn't find any trace of her. Then again, she can fly."

"Well, we'll just have to hope that we reach the next maiden first. Everybody get ready to leave. We're headed to Atlas."

* * *

"Ruby. Come on, open up." Rain knocked on her door again. "You know I could knock down this door if I wanted."

The door opened slowly and standing in the doorway, tear tracks all over her face, was Ruby.

Ruby sniffed and hugged Rain, crying into his shirt.

"It's okay, Ruby. We're headed to Atlas now. We'll find a way to track down Pyrrha and we can also find Weiss while we're there. We might need some help from the Schnee company anyway."

"I've never seen someone die, Rain. It was horrifying. It all happened so quickly."

"I know. Actually I don't know. I've never been shaken by death. It was one of the things that made me perfect for this job. But I know how it affects other people. I know that the pain will stay with you for a long time. But I also know that eventually that pain will fade. And staying in your room won't help that. I think you should try talking to Banner. He knows about the dangers of letting yourself be consumed by your grief."

"Isn't he a murderer, though?"

"He's less crazy than the others. He just made a lot of bad choices in his life. It wasn't all his fault. But he did descend into his darkness and is striving to get out. So if any of the Soldiers are the one to talk to, it's him."

"I'll try."

"Good. Now let's go get some food. Blake is working on Yang. Maybe we'll see her soon."

"What's wrong with Yang?"

"So much."

* * *

"You picked a hell of a boyfriend, Blake."

"He's just trying to do what's right. And he's your brother."

"Is that why he let our friends die?"

"You know it's not like that. He couldn't have known Pyrrha was going to turn traitor."

"But she wouldn't have turned traitor if he'd been there."

"Then who would've stopped Jaune from destroying the city?"

"I don't mean the safehouse. I mean at the battle of Beacon. If he cares so much, why wasn't he there?"

"He told you why. He wasn't allowed to be there."

"That's bullshit and you know it. Rain is far more powerful than anyone we know. He could have and should have been there. If he really wanted to."

"What does that mean?"

"Don't you find it a bit convenient that the only two people who could really confirm his story are out of reach. Ozpin disappeared and my mother is impossible to get in contact with. If it weren't for the other Soldiers, I'd be wondering if he'd made all of this up."

"Yang, what are you saying?"

"I don't trust him, Blake. He's dangerous and he could have gotten all of us killed. We need to leave once we get to Atlas. We can stay with Weiss until this all blows over."

"Yang, I know you're scared, but running from a fight for the survival of our very civilization is not the way to deal with it. If we have the ability to do something good then it is our moral obligation to do so. We chose to be huntresses: we don't get to run away and hide."

"You're right. Damn it all, you're right. Doesn't mean I trust him, though. He's dangerous and I don't want him infecting Ruby. She's still got a lot of innocence."

"You know she won't accept that. If Ruby wants to hang out with her brother, you won't be able to stop her."

"You're right, but I can try."

"Come on. Let's get something to eat."

The two of them walked up to the main deck. When they got their they heard Ruby's giggling laughter and saw her sitting at a table with Rain and a plate piled high with chocolate chip cookies.

Yang could only stare in shock. Rain had done what Yang had been too self-focused to do: he had brought Ruby back to herself, even if for a moment.

Yang turned to Blake and saw a smug grin on her face. "Shut up."

"I didn't say a word."

"But you were right."

"Whatever you need to say to feel better."

"Like I said, shut up."

Yang walked over to the table and crushed Ruby in a bear hug.

"Yang," Ruby started flailing her arms about, "you're squishing me."

"Oh, but I'm so happy. I feel like I haven't seen a genuine smile from you in forever." she turned to Rain and mouthed the words "Thank you."

"So," Rain got up from his chair, "since you two are okay for the moment, I'll go check on our coma patient."

"Do you think Jaune will be okay?" Ruby asked.

Rain leaned over and ruffled her hair. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Well, maybe not fine, given everything with Pyrrha. But I can promise alive and conscious."

* * *

Rain walked into Jaune's room to find Lucian already inside, sitting on a chair and watching Jaune.

"What're you doing here, Lucian? You should be taking care of your pack. I don't want another incident like the one that happened with your third pack."

"I've just been observing this paradox."

"What do you mean?"

"Here lies one of the most powerful beings I have ever seen. Yet such beautiful destructive force is contained within such a weak body. It seems such a waste. Almost like a bad joke."

"He nearly burned down the entire city."

"So what. We've done comparable things. We released a neuro-toxin into the water supply of a White Fang encampment and killed twenty thousand of there soldiers. That doesn't even take into account the children and animals that lost their lives. What would it matter if the city had burned?"

"We were in that city."

"We would have found a way out. We always have. And it would have been worth it to watch such chaos unfold. If you'd let him keep going, he might have even destroyed the whole continent. Now _that_ would have been something to see."

"Lucian, our mission is to protect life. We may be allowed to sacrifice people along the way, but that doesn't mean we are going to burn a whole continent for funsies."

Lucian stood up and Rain was reminded of just how massive the wolfman truly was. "You've changed, kid. And not for the better. This family of yours? They're drawing you back to the side of the angels. You don't belong there anymore than I do."

Rain summoned some ice underneath him to stare Lucian eye-to-eye. "Don't you **ever** think that just because I am on the side of the angels, that I am one of them. I am willing to do what most men won't. I am prepared to burn in order to save humanity. I hope you remember the day we met well. Because that should serve as a reminder of just how much difference there is between you and me. Now get out of here before I knock you on your ass."

"Fine boss. Just remember that you can't always be on guard against me."

* * *

Lucian walked back to his room and sat down on his bed. He pulled out the relic he had found.

"So," he spoke to the jewel, "say I am interested. What could you offer me?"

The pale head of Salem formed out of the jewel. "Oh, Lucian. What is it you want?"

"Death. Unadulterated murder and destruction on a global scale."

* * *

 **A.N: Fun stuff happening in this chapter, eh? Some sad people getting to be happy for a little bit, Rain finally flipping out at Nocturne, Lucian going down the dark path of betraying the team, some chocolate chip cookies. All fun stuff.**


	24. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Insert Random Joke or Reference Here**

It took them about a week to get to Atlas. In that time, Jaune's condition had not improved and Rain's temper had gotten very short. Nothing they'd done had been effective to wake Jaune up and they (by which I mean Rain) desperately needed him to.

"Wake up, you useless reprobate." Rain was just shaking Jaune at this point in an attempt to wake him. "I am going to die if you don't." Rain started slapping him. "What is wrong with you?!"

Banner grabbed Rain, "Stop. It's not doing anything. Can't you see that?"

Rain shook himself free. "I know that. But we've tried everything else."

"We'll figure it out, boss. But for now we have to be patient."

Moria leaned inside the cabin. "You're needed in the command center, boss. The military is being... Atlesian."

Rain sighed. "On my way."

* * *

"Unidentified vessel, turn around and leave our borders before we are forced to fire on you."

Rain grabbed the microphone, "Atlesian border patrol, this is ' _The_ _Floating Arsenal_ '. We have permission from General Ironwood to enter your territory. We are carrying precious cargo and more soldiers. Tell the General that Rain Branwen has arrived. We'll wait."

"Do you think that'll work?" Blake asked.

"I hope that Atlesian strictness will actually work in our favour this time."

The speaker crackled to life again. "Attention, ' _Arsenal_ ' you have been cleared to dock. Proceed to pier ninety-nine and await the general's envoy."

"Understood. We will comply."

"Welcome to Atlas."

Rain turned off the radio, "Phew. That could have been much worse."

"But you do have permission from the general, right?"

"Technically no. But he does like me."

"So where are your Soldiers in Atlas?"

"If all is going according to plan, they should be protecting the path to the maiden."

"Path? What path?"

"Atlas is a bit more rigid with the maidens. There is actually a monastery where the winter maiden stays. It's impossible to get to, even by a maiden. Except through a narrow pathway designed to test your will, courage, etc. I gave my Soldiers strict orders to guard that path. They have no idea what is at the other side, just that they need to guard it as soon as a world-shaking event happened. The Vytal festival counted."

"You trust them to still be there?"

"These two Soldiers are ex-military. They follow my orders implicitly. They might actually be my favourites. It's just so refreshing. They don't question me at all. I love it."

"Well I look forward to meeting them."

* * *

They waited for half-an-hour before a group of soldiers showed up.

"Rain Branwen." they shouted up to the ship, "You are to come with us to meet with General Ironwood. Your people are to stay here."

"Okay. Just give me a minute to relay the orders."

Rain turned to the others. "I need the Soldiers to stay here. Ruby, Yang, and Blake: sneak off and find your friend. The Schnee. Her father probably won't let her go. Just tell him that Desmond's disciple knows what he did, and he's here for revenge."

"Ooookay." Ruby responded.

"Wait twenty minutes after I leave and then go."

Rain jumped down from the deck onto the pier and walked off with the soldiers.

"I hope he's okay." Blake said.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Yang said with a hint of derision.

* * *

As they walked down the streets towards the military headquarters, Rain slowly started getting nervous. The last time he'd been there, he had resisted arrest and assaulted a cop, after all.

"Freeze!" Rain groaned internally. He turned around to see officer Blaine standing with her rifle aimed right between his eyes.

"It took me three hours to get out of that ice. Now you have the audacity to walk through my streets? Your ass is mine."

Rain turned to the soldiers assigned to escort him. They seemed unsure what to do.

"Officer Blaine, I am a clandestine agent for the highest authority. I apologize for my actions the last time I was in Atlas, but I had a mission. I am heading to a meeting at the moment. I apologize that I have to go." He turned to his escort. "Gentlemen. Let's be on our way."

Blaine just stared with an open mouth as Rain and his escort proceeded down the street towards the military headquarters.

* * *

"So what have you been doing since the festival ended?" Ironwood asked Rain while pouring them both a drink.

Rain accepted the drink and drained it in one go.

"It's been rough, James. I've failed at every turn. I went to Vacuo to find the Summer maiden: I was too late to save her. I went to Mistral and actually _did_ find the Spring maiden. But then Cinder Fall- with the power of two maidens mind you- and Pyrrha Nikos- returned from the dead- invaded our safehouse while I was out fighting an ancient being and took Spring's powers. Then Pyrrha Nikos stole Cinder's powers and killed her. She's since disappeared and then I came here."

"You had nothing positive happen during your mission?"

"Well, I shut down the White Fang while I was in Vacuo. And I cleared out the grimm completely from Mistral. And I was responsible for the death of an ancient being."

"Tell me more about this 'ancient being'. I'm curious."

"I don't know much, but we had met one before. Apparently, they're super powerful and are the basis for most legends of gods. They can only be killed by weapons that have achieved a legendary status. We found one. Unfortunately it needed to be wielded by a specific person. Fortunately we also found said person. Unfortunately that kid is now in a coma. His weapon made him go nuts and he almost destroyed the capital. I managed to stop him, but he went into a coma and we don't know what to do."

"Who is the man with such extraordinary powers?"

"You might have tricked someone else with that, Jimmy. But not me. I know that you would turn him into a weapon. I can't allow that."

"It was worth a shot. Why would gods be going after you?"

"Because I'm apparently central to current events. The one who told me about their weakness claims that there is a controlling force in the universe. He also said that I was changing fate and that said 'force' was pissed at me and it would attempt to either kill me or correct my path. The ancient beings are scared of that. Because if the attempts to kill me started getting worse, it might impact them."

"That's an incredible tale. But what do you need from me? I assume that is why you're here."

"Since the kid cleared out Mistral, I've asked Nocturne to help in a special job. I think we're getting close to the end game, James. I'm going to need everyone. Everyone. Nocturne is working to establish a safe, over-seas corridor between Vale and Atlas."

"To what end?"

"I need you to rebuild the CCTS tower in Vale. When the final battle comes, I _need_ to be able to gather everyone I can. You built the towers and you need to rebuild this one. ASAP."

"That's easier said than done. We have a shortage of dust currently."

"But the Schnee Dust Company is based here. How can you be out of Dust?"

"Wilhelm Schnee has decided that, since the fiasco that was the Vytal festival, the Atlesian military is not responsible enough to continue getting his Dust."

"Well then, it's a good thing I'm going to see him next."

"Why?"

"My sisters are friends with one of his daughters and I have a personal grudge against him. I'm hoping he won't listen to reason. I'm really hoping he won't."

"I guess I won't keep you waiting any longer, then. If you can get the Dust flowing to us again, I'll do whatever you need."

"Thanks, Jimmy."

* * *

"Your brother knew my uncle?"

Weiss had been surprised that her teammates were in Atlas, but she was more surprised by the news about Rain.

"Yeah. He told us your father framed him and kicked him out of the family because he didn't want to share." Blake spoke up.

"And why should you believe him, Blake? You've always been the group skeptic."

"She's banging him." Yang said from her spot at the door.

"Yang!" Blake flushed.

"What happened to Sun?" Weiss asked of nobody in particular.

"He died in Vacuo." Blake said quietly.

"Oh."

"Anyway." Ruby said, "What are the odds that your dad would let you leave with us?"

"Absolutely none."

"Well then, I guess it's time to deliver the message to your father."

* * *

Rain strolled up to the gates of the Schnee mansion. Overall, it was impressive. Gold everywhere and three layers of wrought iron fences. There were hidden cameras everywhere that the untrained eye would pass over easily. But to Rain's eyes they were clear as day.

No less than fifty guards were visible around the grounds. Rain went up to the guard at the gates and introduced himself.

"Hello there. My name is Rain Branwen. I'm here to speak to Wilhelm Schnee about his daughter and his current trade embargo with the military."

The guard just stared at him with a raised eyebrow. He then picked up a phone and waited a few seconds.

"Yes, sir. There's a man here who wants to see you. Claims he's from the military."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Tell him that I am Desmond's disciple."

"Sir, he claims to also be the 'disciple' of someone named 'Desmond'. He seems to think that would mean something to you. Yes, sir." The guard put down the phone and turned to Rain. "You're to be escorted straight to his office."

"I thought I might."

The gate was opened and Rain got to Mr. Schnee's office in what he thought was probably record time.

"Leave us." Wilhelm told the guards from his chair, facing the window.

When they left, he stood up and turned to Rain. "What do you want?"

"Right now? I need you to release your daughter from her imprisonment here and lift your trade embargo with the military. And if it's not too much trouble I'd like your head on a plate."

"I expected no less from someone who knew my brother. But I expected more blackmail and less death threats."

"I don't do blackmail."

Wilhelm poured himself a drink, "Well I can't release my daughter," sip, "but it's probably time I lifted that embargo. I was losing a lot of profit." sip, "I expect I can charge them a bit more now. As for that plate," sip, "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

"I expected as much. In that case, I challenge you to a duel. If I win, you have to acquiesce to my demands."

"And what if I win?"

"What do you want?"

"If I win, I cut out your tongue so you can't slander my name, and send you to work in my mines."

"Deal."

"Then we'll set the battle for sunset. I assume you are just as busy a man as I?"

"Yeah. Sunset should be good. I'll be back by then."

* * *

When Rain got back to the ship, the Soldiers were all lounging on the deck as if there weren't a care in the world. He rectified that situation immediately.

"Up and at 'em, ya lazy turds. I've got an assignment for you."

"All of us, boss?" Lucian asked him. "I'm really enjoying my nap."

"Yes. All of you. You're to meet up with Pierce and Reg and hold their position until I get there. Am I understood?"

"Yeah." Banner responded, "We'll be there. I'll make sure of it."

"Thanks, Banner. Now, I have until to sunset to prepare for a possible future as a mute slave-miner."

"That sounds nice- wait what?! What did you do?"

"Challenged Wilhelm Schnee to a duel. Might not have been the smartest thing I've ever done, but I can't take it back now."

"Yes you can. You're Rain goddamn Branwen. You fear no man."

"Let me explain: His killers are better than us."

"How is that possible?"

"Because I tried to recruit them. They were Ozpin's first choices for the Soldiers. Unfortunately, they are actually loyal to the incredibly ridiculous amounts of money he pays them. So we couldn't recruit them. But suffice it to say that only Lucian and I would have a chance of fighting them and living."

"Do these guys have names?"

"I've just always called them The Winter Soldiers. Because they're like us, but they stay in Atlas." the Soldiers seemed nonplussed, "I thought it was clever."

"So we were the second choice?" Flare spoke into the awkward silence that ensued.

Rain took in a deep breath, "Not exactly."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, it's just- you remember how I recruited you, right Flare? It was more spur of the moment. Which is not to say that you aren't strong. But we didn't even know you were an assassin until that moment."

"So I wasn't even your last choice? You mentally flipped a coin to decide what to do with me? Is that it?"

"Flare, you're making this a lot harder than it has to be. Yes, your recruitment was an unforeseen occurrence. But you have proven your place on this team time and time again. You overcame the incredible drawback of being a Soulless and became one of the most terrifying assassins on Remnant. I would rather have you over any of the Winter Soldiers."

Flare was quiet for a long time before she pointed a finger at Rain. "I will see this mission through to the end, but after that? You might want to watch your back." Flare turned to the others, "Let's go, guys."

As he watched them disappear into the city, Rain started to get worried. That was the second time since Mistral that one of his people had threatened him. He was beginning to hope that some of them wouldn't make it. So that he wouldn't have to be the one to kill them.

* * *

 **A.N:Tempers are really flaring up, huh? Huh? Yang would've appreciated that joke. Anywho, you can probably guess what's going to happen next. Goodnight.**


	25. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Clash of the Titans**

Team RWBY waited in a pavilion in the backyard of the Schnee mansion. Weiss's guards had come and moved them there after Rain had left. They were surrounded by the Schnee family's elite guards.

"Psst, Weiss." Ruby made a failed attempt at whispering, "Who are these guys? They look creepy."

"They're the best of the best. My father hired them due to their reputation as unkillable."

"Do they live up to the hype?"

A man with a golden right arm dropped down onto the table between them. He leaned down into Ruby's face. "You tell me, little lady."

Ruby tried to respond, but only succeeded in letting out a strangled "Eep."

"Barney, stop that." Weiss slapped him on the arm. "You're scaring her."

"Sorry. I just don't like being talked about as if I'm not there."

Weiss let out a sigh. "Ruby, this is Barney. He's the leader of my father's bodyguards."

"You have a golden arm." Ruby blushed because she blurted out the only thing that came to mind.

"Yes, I do. Although the gold is only a thin plating over the actual armour." Barney's arm transfigured into a variety of weapons, "The rest of it is actually a rare metal that is almost indestructible. I could have just gotten a prosthetic when I lost my arm. But I figured that I might as well have as useful an arm as I can."

Ruby had started drooling when she saw Barney's arm's different forms. It was a weapon geek's dream.

Weiss leaned over. "Ruby, you're making a puddle on the table."

Ruby broke out of her daze and flushed a deep crimson.

Barney tried to stifle his laughter. "Ruby, is it?" he stuck out his hand, "It's nice to meet you."

He and Ruby shook hands. Then he got off the table and started patrolling the grounds.

Ruby slammed her head on the table and let out a groan.

Yang slid over next to her little sister. "So, do I have to break that guy's other arm? Or should I start prepping him to join the family?"

"Yang!" Ruby started chasing her sister around the pavilion while Weiss and Blake watched with small smiles on their faces.

As the sun started nearing the horizon, a fog rolled into the backyard. A fog so thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. A few punches and groans could be heard for a few minutes. Then, as soon as it had come, the fog dissapeared.

Standing in the center of the duelling field was Rain and a pile of broken sniper rifles. Barney immediately swept in front of Rain and levelled his arm, in shotgun mode, at Rain's face. His two underlings were right behind him.

"Is there really a need for that? All I did was take out the snipers Wilhelm set up just in case he started to lose. You're an honourable guy."

"You can lower the weapon, mister Smith. Master Branwen was merely ensuring an even fight." Wilhelm Schnee walked down to the field with a claymore on his back.

"If you clearly understand a fair fight then why set up the snipers in the first place?"

"Because it would have been rude not to. You were expecting them, weren't you?"

"True enough. Are you ready?"

"Yes. I've readied my will just in case you go overboard."

"Damn. I knew I forgot something."

The two of them moved to their starting positions as the Winter Soldiers moved off to the side.

"Before we start, can I ask you something?" Rain asked.

"Why not? Go ahead. Use your tongue while you can."

"Based on the way my little sister has been ogling Barney, I was just wondering how old he was. I need to know if I should kill a pedophile or welcome a prospective brother-in-law."

Wilhelm started laughing uproariously and had to lean on his sword to stay upright. "The confidence coming off you is incredible. I would be scared if I wasn't equally confident."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"He's thirty. He was in cryostasis for awhile, though. So he's more like nineteen or twenty."

"I'm oddly okay with that."

"Is that all? Can we get on to the fight now?"

"Oh, yeah." Rain fashioned an ice blade with an energy core. He held it in his left hand and got into a ready stance. "Let's go."

Barney raised his arm and fired off an explosive Dust round to signal the start of the match.

Immediately, Wilhelm charged across the field and launched a sideswipe at Rain. Nobody saw Rain move, but he was suddenly standing on top of the claymore.

"If that's as fast as you can move, this is going to be a short fight."

Wilhelm dropped his sword and ripped off his suit jacket. His upper arms were covered in gloves similar to Rain's, but made of more varieties of Dust. Wilhelm put together his hands as if there were a ball between them and his gloves started to glow.

"Well, that's new."

Wilhelm pushed out his hands and unleashed a blast of multi-elemental fury towards Rain.

Rain nimbly did a dodge-roll out of the way. When he stood up, he noticed the end of his coat was on fire.

"Okay." Rain slipped out of his coat, "Now I'm really freaking nettled."

What followed was a clash of gods. The two of them sending stronger and stronger blast toward each other. Team RWBY was on the edge of their seats, trying to figure out who would win. But Barney and the Winter Soldiers just stood by, complete calm on their faces.

Ruby took a chance to slide close to Barney. "So who do you think is gonna win. I don't know if my brother can."

"Nah. Your brother's just playing with mister Schnee."

"What? But they seem so evenly matched."

"Did you learn nothing from the fight between your uncle and miss Winter?"

"You saw that?"

"I keep an eye on all the Schnees."

"What do you mean about that fight, though? What should I have learned form it?"

A chunk of stone flew out of the dust cloud toward Ruby's face and Barney caught it out of the air, crushing it in his fist. "Your uncle and your brother are very similar. In his fight with Winter, Qrow was just playing around. He was in control the entire time and could have ended it whenever he wanted to."

"And Rain is doing the same thing?"

"Since he stood on top of mister Schnee's sword, it was over. The gloves were supposed to be Wilhelm's trump card. He had to bring them out for his second attack. If that isn't enough for you, look at your brother's face."

Ruby squinted to see through the dust swirling over the battlefield. The clouds cleared for a second and she got a clear glimpse of her brother before he was once more obscured.

"He was smiling?" Ruby asked confusedly

"Yeah. Mr. Schnee has worn a permanent grimace since the start, but Rain is having fun. He's dancing around in there just to piss off Mr. Schnee."

"How can you see that?"

"My semblance allows me to see through anything." he looked at Ruby, "Cute underwear, by the way."

Ruby flushed and covered herself with her hands.

"Relax, kid. I was just messing with you. I wouldn't do that to someone, unless I had to search them for weapons."

Barney looked back out to the dust cloud. "And it's over. Wilhelm is on his knees and breathing heavily. Wait. What is your brother doing?"

Screams could be heard from within the dust cloud. Barney jumped out of the pavilion and tackled Rain to the ground. He held Rain down with his metal arm and looked to his boss.

Wilhelm Schnee had often been intimidating by his very presence and reputation for incredible cruelty. But the man Barney saw was broken. His face was a mass of blood and bruises. His moustache seemed to have been burned off during the fighting. But what had caused his screaming was the worst part.

Rain had carved the word "Traitor" into Wilhelm's forehead.

Barney pulled back his left fist to punch Rain. "Why did you do that? You'd already beaten him."

"That man turned on his own brother and made him die a destitute cripple. Now everyone will know that this 'pillar of the community' would sell his own mother for a grape."

"Mr. Smith." Weiss had gotten onto the battlefield and was standing behind Barney. "Perhaps you should get my father to a medic."

Barney then got up, picked up Mr. Schnee, and carried him into the house.

* * *

Wilhelm woke up with a start in a medical bed. He looked around and his eyes landed on the mirror.

"It's not as bad as it looks, boss." Wilhelm noticed Barney standing in the corner. "The doctor says your aura should heal it up soon and a little makeup should cover up what little scars remain."

"Good. Now go kill that son-of-a-bitch."

"Sir. He won the duel. You should honour your agreement."

"Honour be damned. He humiliated me in front of my family and my employees. I want him dead. I want his family dead. I want everything he cares about destroyed, damn it!"

"Sorry, sir. But you don't pay me enough for that."

"I will have you destroyed, Smith!"

Barney swept forward and stuck his arm, as a sword, in Wilhelm's face. "Now you listen to me, you piece of garbage. You will honour your agreement with Branwen or I will do worse than carve some words into your forehead. And you know I can deliver on that."

Wilhelm's face twisted with rage. He wanted to kill Barney, but he knew that was impossible. Eventually he let out a deep sigh. He knew when he was beat.

"Fine. I'll let my daughter go and lift the embargo."

"Good." Barney got up and walked over to the door. He stopped right before he left the room. "I'm done with this job. I need to serve a man with some shred of integrity." He slammed the door behind him.

* * *

Rain was standing outside Weiss's room as Team RWBY helped her pack to leave when Barney walked out of Wilhelm's room.

"That sounds like it was a fun conversation."

Barney stopped walking and leaned against the wall opposite Rain. "Does your old offer still stand? The Soldier program?"

Rain cocked an eyebrow. "You? You want to take orders from _me_?"

"Honestly? I just want to be doing something good for once. It's been too long protecting scum. So," Barney lit up a cigarette, using the lighter in his thumb. "do you have room for a guy just trying to do the right thing?"

Rain's mouth twitched into a wide grin, "I think I might have a few open spots. The first thing I need you to do is get these girls to my yacht and protect them until I get back."

"Why can't you take them?"

"Because I'm already behind schedule and I don't fully trust my team to get the job done."

"Why don't you trust them?"

"When you and your guys turned Oz down, we had to recruit less than reputable people. They all served dutifully for the past few years, but lately... I don't know. It might be nothing, but my gut tells me not to trust them."

"Fair enough. I'll get the girls back safe."

"Thanks. Oh, one more thing. If you touch Ruby, I will rip your throat out through your as with your own arm. Are we clear?"

"Yeah, man. But, Rain, I'm not going to go after a sixteen year old unless she pursues me first. I'm not that kind of guy."

"Okay. But if she does go after you first, no funny stuff until she sees a ring."

"Roger. One question."

"Shoot."

"Why mutilate Wilhelm if you know his aura would fix it?"

"My semblance manipulates aura. He won't die, but his aura will never heal his forehead."

"Damn, that's cold."

"Yeah. Yeah... Bye."

Rain ran off down the hall and leaped through a third-story window, disappearing into the night.

Barney just humphed and took a drag off his cigarette. "Show off."

* * *

 **A.N: So I originally planned to have Wilhelm back out by having Barney substitute for him, but I ended up making Barney a good guy and shipping him with Ruby and I think I'm slowly losing my mind. Anyway, back to the main plot next time.**


	26. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Doo wee doo**

The sun was just starting to rise as Rain made his way out of the city, north towards the ice wall that protected the city from the harsh climate of the icy wastes. As he raced across the frozen ground, Rain thought about everything that had happened recently.

He had been raised to be the perfect soldier: cold, calculating, powerful, and brutal. And for the most part he thought he still was. But calculating was being taken over by emotional. Brutal was being taken over by merciful. Powerful had never been a problem. But his coldness was being replaced by a warmth of love. The same love that threatened to make him sacrifice the world.

His mother had warned him of the dangers of love, but she had never been able to convey the way love tested your resolve and forced you to a special type of insanity, Qrow had always said that love never existed, and Ozpin had never mentioned one or the other.

"If you have any advice to give, Oz, now would be the time." Rain spoke to the freezing air. The damned psychic link Ozpin had created was quiet - as usual.

Although an answer didn't come from Ozpin, it seemed someone else was paying attention. A capsule no larger than a phone booth fell from the sky in front of Rain and a curious man stepped out of it, smoke flowing out the door behind him.

Rain leaped back and turned his left arm into an ice shield while building up energy around his right. "Who the hell are you?"

The man dusted off his coat and coughed for a few seconds. "Sorry, sorry. My machine started malfunctioning and I had to make a crash landing here. Just give it a few moments to air out and I'll be on my way."

"What does your machine do?" Rain asked, lowering his guard just enough to show that he no longer meant violence, but could still defend himself.

"It, um... Well, you could say it keeps me safe by constantly moving me everywhere. I can only stay somewhere for a few hours before my enemies find me."

"What's your name?"

"I haven't used a name in awhile, but I used to be quite a biologist. Perhaps just call me 'The Professor'. That sounds right. If I may be so bold, what name do you go by, good sir?"

"Most people just call me Rain, or jackass, or 'please don't kill me'. Although, strictly speaking, I don't think that last one is really a name."

The Professor looked as if he had just seen a ghost. "You wouldn't happen to be Rainbow Branwen, the Soldier, the slayer of men and grimm alike, the founder of-" he seemed to catch himself before finishing, "That part isn't important. But you are him, aren't you?"

Rain sent the energy swirling around his arm towards the Professor. The energy merely absorbed into his body without seeming to affect him.

"Who are you? How do you know who I am?"

The man's countenance changed to one of smugness. "Get in my vessel and all will be explained."

"Sorry. Don't have time. Places to go and a force of nature to kill."

"My machine also travels through time. I can get you right back here as soon as we're done. What do you say?"

"Fine. But only because I feel like you could force me to do so anyway."

"Well come in. Come in. It's more spacious than you would expect."

* * *

The machine materialized on top of Beacon tower the night of the dance. Rain walked out behind The Professor. "Impossible. Physically impossible."

"Anything is possible if you think fifth dimensionally."

"What?"

"Nevermind. Do you know where we are?"

"Yes. This is Beacon. Obviously before the battle. But why are we here?"

"Because you were set on a certain path by those who raised you. But that doesn't mean that you were destined for that path. I am here to show you what you gave up. Or were forced to give up."

They scaled down the tower with relative ease and got to the ballroom without anyone noticing. They manoeuvred through the throng of students and teachers, The Professor leading the way.

"Where are we going?" Rain whispered.

"Right... here. Now stand here and just listen."

"Listen to what?"

"Well, you can't spend your entire life on the battlefield. Even if you may want to." Ozpin's voice cut through the background noise right into Rain's ears.

"Why are we eavesdropping on Ozpin? He was my mentor."

"Just shut up and listen. You're missing it."

Rain strained his ears again and picked up the rest of what Ozpin was saying.

"It's not every day that friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds. But it's nights like these that can help keep them stronger than ever. Nights like these are ones we'll never forget."

The Professor grabbed Rain's sleeve and motioned to the balcony.

"Why did you make me hear that?" Rain asked when they were alone. "What was the point? And if that was an illusion, it was a pretty shitty one. Oz doesn't speak like that."

"And that is my point. Ozpin doesn't show his true face to anyone. The face he shows to his students and the face he shows to you are completely different. You have no guarantee that he isn't lying to you constantly. I know the man and he is a puppet master, controlling everyone to some degree. He only seeks to defeat his own enemy, and he will do anything towards that end."

"That's not exactly true, Old One." Ozpin had appeared behind them without either man noticing. "Now what are you doing here? And who is- Rain? But you're supposed to be-"

"In Atlas. I know. And I am. Sort of. I'm actually from the future."

Ozpin's coffee cup disintegrated in his fist. "What right did you have, Old One?"

"It's not about my rights. It's about his." The Professor pointed to Rain, "You have deceived him from day one in order to accomplish your own goals. You have made him into exactly what you wanted him to be, disregarding his own dreams and desires. Once you were a good man, but now I can't even look at you."

"Interesting that you would chastise me for deceit. Seeing as you carried out the largest deceit I have ever witnessed." Ozpin turned to Rain, "Did he ever tell you how he became so powerful as to bend time and space? It's an interesting story."

"You know I did what had to be done." The Professor retorted.

"Did you?!" Ozpin responded with fiery zeal, "You doomed our people to death. We can't reproduce and we are no longer untouchable by death. We were gods and you destroyed us!"

"Okay, hold up. Someone explain what you two are talking about."

The Professor opened his hands and created a screen in the air. As he spoke, images appeared to match what he was saying. "In the beginning of time there were the Primordials. We were powerful and unrestricted. We created and destroyed civilizations regularly all because we were bored. Eventually we started taking turns. Two of us would build the planet's surface together and create two species intent on fighting each other. Whichever species won, that Primordial would get a portion of the other's power."

"That seems stupid."

"We were all-powerful and bored. What else could we do?

"Eventually, Ozpin and his counterpart built Remnant. He created humans and she..."

"Created the grimm." Rain finished.

"Exactly. I and several others had realized that we couldn't continue the way we had been. A change was needed."

"So he convinced roughly half of us to surrender enough power to him to change the laws of the universe. We didn't know what he had really planned to do until it was too late." Ozpin broke in.

"I never lied to you. I told you that I would put an end to the endless cycle of creating only to destroy. And I did."

"By creating a way to kill us."

"I allowed us to be killed only by people who had proven their worth as heroes. And it was only to stop those who were getting too... evil. Eventually, some humans achieved enough renown to be able to kill one of us."

"And you tested it by killing your closest friend."

"And my greatest enemy! Don't you see that I couldn't just let him continue as he was?"

" _I_ tried to find a different way."

"Ah, yes. Stealing the power and then redistributing it to four innocent children, to be hunted for all time by Her. How noble."

"I also protected my people."

"For how long? You tried to send all the grimm to hell, but She found a way out. She was always smarter than you were. And now you're trying to kill her anyway."

"Only because there is no other way. You've seen how far She will go."

"And that is my point." The Professor waved his hands and the screen vanished. "None of you could see what we were headed for. Our time was done. It was time we allowed others a chance to create their world, but none of you would let them. So I took matters into my own hands."

"But why am I here?" Rain stepped between the two, "Because so far I have no fucking idea."

"Because you need to know why you're fighting. You asked for advice about what to do at this stage of your mission. So I answered."

"By teaching me a history lesson?"

"This was only part of it. We're going somewhere else next. This was just to show you who you're working for."

The Professor snapped his fingers and they reappeared in his machine. He walked up to the control console. "Next stop," he pulled a lever dramatically, "your other life."

* * *

They stepped out of the machine to find themselves on top of Beacon tower again.

"Why are we back here? And what did you mean: 'my other life'?"

"Exactly that. We are at the same point in time and space as our last trip. But we are in an alternate reality. One where your mother wasn't crazy."

"You best watch what you say about my mother."

"My apologies. But you know I'm right. In this world, you grew up with your sisters. You were an inspiration to Ruby and a constant sparring partner with Yang. In this reality you even have your own team."

"But I was born without a conscience. That restricts me from becoming a Huntsman."

"Well, let's go take a look, then."

"But won't I be recognized?"

"Nah. I can hide us from prying eyes."

Once again, the two made their way down the tower and into the ballroom. What they saw there sent a chill up Rain's spine.

Everything was exactly like last time. Except he was there. Rain was there with a full team. He was laughing and dancing and playing small practical jokes and all the other things a seventeen-year-old normally does. Remarkably, he was already with Blake in this timeline.

"They lied to me." Rain said with deadly clarity.

"Yes, they did. They told you what you needed to hear to fulfill their designs."

"What about my team? What are they doing in this timeline?"

"Most of them are in prison or dead. Without you recruiting criminals, the Soldier program never succeeded and these people will have to fight that much harder once the war comes."

"Is it possible that we find a way to stop it in this timeline?"

"It's about half of the possible results of this timeline, actually. But things get worse without you as a Soldier."

"I thought this was meant to show me who I could have been without the Soldier program."

"It is. But it is also to show you that good can come from a bad situation. Ergo: you were manipulated by everyone you looked up to because they needed a weapon. They robbed you of a childhood and a good life. But they turned you into one of the greatest heroes of your era. And trust me when I say that no matter what, that is who you need to be."

"And what if I just want to be normal?"

"That's fine, too. I'm sure another great warrior with charisma, power, and determination will rise up to take your place. Oh wait. The universe doesn't do that. Now come on."

"Are you taking me back to my time?"

"No. Two more stops, then you're home."

"Where are we going?"

"Your futures."

* * *

Rain stood in a cemetery, watching a blonde girl with cat ears walk to a grave site. He saw her take a knee and place a bouquet of orchids. He could see her lips moving, but was too far away to hear what she said.

After a few minutes he saw her stand up and wipe her eyes before walking away. When he was certain she had left, Rain walked over to see whose grave it was.

The Professor walked up after he'd been standing there for several minutes. He looked down and read out loud: "Here lies Rain Branwen. Beloved husband, father, and friend. Hero to few, but saviour to all. He lived so that others may live better. He shall never be forgotten by those who knew him."

"I don't deserve that."

"Maybe not right now. But future you... who knows? Did you notice who's on your left?"

Rain looked down and almost cried. The headstone read: "Here lies Blake Branwen. Beloved wife, mother and friend. A blade in the night to protect those who can't protect themselves. Her accomplishments will never be known, except by those who knew her."

"That girl who was here. She's our daughter, isn't she?"

"Yup. She looked up to you as the hero everyone but you could see. You taught her humility and patience. More importantly, you taught her how and when to fight."

"So what did I do to deserve this life? In this timeline was I was a Huntsman or a Soldier?"

"I can give you some answers after we reach the next timeline. Come on."

* * *

Rain stepped out into a barren wasteland devoid of any life, but the grimm. They were everywhere, just standing around. The sun was blocked by clouds of ash and dust.

"What are they doing?"

"They won. Humanity is dead and gone. There's nothing left for them to do."

"I'm guessing this is the one where I chose love over fate."

"No, actually. Whenever you are alive, the timeline always turns into this or where we just were. The specifics change, but the end result is one of the two. But love has very little to do with it."

"Then what is the difference?"

"It's actually very simple: In both versions you do the heroic thing. It's just that in this one, you do it wrong."

"But why show me this?"

"Because you asked for advice."

"Advice about my wavering resolve. This just seems to be random nonsense to show me that I have a chance at happiness, but not telling me how to get there!"

"No. It's not. I am showing you that the path you were set on is a hard one, but that you were always destined to be a hero. You were always destined to be a moral man. This 'softening of your heart' is just your heart waking up. But it might cause you to inadvertently create this." he waved his hand around, "When you get back, remember that you must make the hardest decision of your life to stop it."

* * *

The capsule materialized in the frozen wastes yet again, depositing Rain and The Professor.

"So we're right back where we were? Same time too?"

"No. We're actually about ten minutes into the past. I wanted to give you a bit of practical help."

"Why not send me to whenever I fight this Grimm Queen? I could help myself."

"She prefers Salem. And that's too risky. If either of you died, it could fuck up time. I don't want that to happen."

"Then I guess I'd better get going. Don't want to run into us a few minutes from now."

"No we don't."

"Thanks for trying. I'm not sure if this will be useful, but at least you answered me."

"It's not Ozpin's fault. Salem found a way to block his telepathic communiques."

"I should probably go rescue him, then."

"Goodbye, Rain. Good luck."

* * *

 **A.N: Figured it was time for another deus ex machina. For those who don't get it, The Professor is based off The Doctor.**


	27. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Rampancy and Murders**

The scene Rain arrived to was one he had never predicted or planned for when he finally got to the Maiden's Path. He had envisioned his men dead or beaten, them holding the entrance without any problems, and even them having captured Pyrrha. What he didn't expect was for there to be no trace of them.

The path was guarded by two massive stone gates that had been ripped down and cracked in half. Two guard towers had been set to either side of the gate, and they had been burned down to nothing but ashes.

Rain walked through the ashes, searching for bone remnants or anything that might indicate his team was dead. He was even more nervous when he didn't. If they weren't dead, where were they?

 _No time for questions, you dumb bastard. Somebody is going after the Winter Maiden and you need to stop it. So get off your ass, stop worrying about your team, and get in there._

"Yeah, I get it, me. But you and I both know that we won't make it through that pass. At least if the stories are to be believed."

 _And how many times have the stories been true?_

"Enough that I doubt our ability to come through without some serious emotional breakthroughs or we won't be able to get through at all."

 _Who cares? It's about time you showed more emotions besides anger._

"I care. The Professor said that my heart waking up was dangerous enough without going through _that_."

 _So plug your eyes and ears. Worst case scenario: you run into a wall. Now get in there. Or do I have to get the other Rainbow? You know how he his._

"Ugh, no. Anything but him. I put him in cold storage for a reason."

 _Too late._

"You suck."

 _ **Well, howdy there, Rainbow Alpha. How are you doing, today?**_

Rain sighed. "Hi, Theta Rainbow. Hope you aren't mad that I stuck you in storage."

 _ **Of course not, Alpha. I'm just happy that we can talk again. Is it not a beautiful day out?**_

 _We're in a frozen tundra._

 _ **It has a frozen beauty that I admire.**_

 _I'm sorry, boss. Can you put him back?_

"Oh no. You're gonna be dealing with him more. This is your fault: you fix it."

 _ **Thank you, most beneficent Alpha.**_

"Shut up or I'm locking you both up with Sigma."

That was enough to quiet them both.

"Just out of curiosity: do either of you remember when you first showed up?"

 _ **It was around the time you first met Him. I really don't like Him.**_

 _Yeah, boss. He's scary._

"Who's He?"

 _ **The guy with scary teeth and hands. You froze him and then let him out.**_

"Lucian is the reason you guys are around? That makes no sense."

 _It was something to do with his smell. Something in it woke us up._

"What do you mean his smell woke you up?"

 **That's quite enough, you two.**

"Sigma? I locked you up tight."

 **I am. These chains are very strong, but they are chains. And chains are always a little bit loose, no matter how hard you try. And these chains are just loose enough for me to grab these two and take them back with me.**

Rain felt all three of them leave his consciousness like a puff of smoke. "Dammit. Guess there's nowhere else to go but straight." Rain looked up at the ice wall. "Then again, just because nobody has defeated the conditions up top before, doesn't mean _I_ won't."

* * *

Lucian flipped over a fireball and straight into a memory of his mother leaving him to die in the woods.

"Dammit." Banner exclaimed while rolling away from an avalanche of stalactites. "We just lost Lucian."

"I'm more worried about the walking god we're fighting myself." Moria said as she just barely managed to turn her tattoos into a shield against an incoming lightning bolt.

"Would you two shut up?" Flare dodged and dove around all sorts of incoming attacks, "We need to give Reg time."

An explosive Dust round slammed into Pyrrha's breastplate and sent her flying through three stalagmites behind her.

A voice crackled to life in everyone's ears, "And you're all doing a smashing job of that with all the dodging and blocking you're doing. But maybe you should get in there and bloody hit her!"

"Easy for you to say, Pierce." Banner said while weaving around a water jet. Behind him, the water collapsed a portion of the cavern wall. "You're a sniper. You don't have to get within a hundred feet of the battle."

"Maybe instead of _banter,_ focus on _battle_." Pyrrha appeared in front of Banner and started bringing down a fist encased in stone and ice.

Right before her blow landed, a foot came out of nowhere and sent her flying backwards a good thirty feet. The man attached to said foot was cloaked in a hood with a rifle slung on his back. He pulled off his hood, "Boy, you tossers really can't keep focus, can you? It's a good fing me and Reg are around or you fuckers would be mincemeat by now."

Moria landed between them and a fireball, setting up her shield as she did so. "We're still losing ground. She's getting further slowly, but steadily. Reg has not had enough time to get enough set up. We need to stop her. Anybody got any ideas on how to do that?"

A lightning bolt streaked toward the three of them. Pierce dug his fist into the ground and a polished ice sheet flew up from the ground. The lightning bolt rebounded off the glass and up into the ceiling. The resulting explosion blew a hole in the cavern, allowing the frigid weather in.

Among the falling ice a red shape could be seen. It was followed by a shout and a thud.

"Oh, son-of-a-bitch! Whichever one of you caused that has a serious beating coming."

"There's no way." Banner said.

"Impossible." Flare said.

"How'd he get up there?" Moria asked.

"I'm so fucked." Pierce sighed into his hands.

Pyrrha seemed to have stopped her rampage for the moment to see what was going on. Rain got up out of the rubble and dusted himself off. He walked out of the rubble and stumbled over to Pyrrha.

"Why are you doing this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well I can only assume she offered to protect your friends when she won – total bullshit by the way – but then she lets Cinder kill two of your best friends. Why would you continue to work for her?"

"Because once I free her she can bring them back."

"I'm sorry, Pyrrha, but we both know that she'll just kill you, and Jaune."

"Why would she kill Jaune?"

"Because she now knows that he is the only person we have who can actually kill her kind. Why would she let him live under any circumstances?"

"But Jaune isn't that strong."

"Did you ever try training him with just one of his weapons? No? Because if you had, you would have noticed that white fire tends to come out of his sword. He's descended from two legendary heroes and their weapons cancel each other out. That's why you never saw what you sensed inside him."

"Sensed? I sensed something?"

"Why else would you help a total loser who forged transcripts? He's a terrible leader and was actually kind of a bad friend from what I heard – until you came along. You taught him how to fight and what makes a good friend. You couldn't really fix his leadership skills because they just don't exist. The only reason you helped him was because you sensed his hidden power."

"He has a hereditary semblance?"

"Yes. His power was contained for so long that it built up and started leaking out. Everyone can sense it on some level. Most don't understand it. Most feel something and it makes them feel defensive. Like he's constantly got a weapon drawn. That causes most people to be assholes towards him. Some people – like yourself – sense that his power is not a threat to you. And they try to help him. The funny thing is: if he had only held his weapons one at a time just once, he wouldn't have been such a pariah. But then he would've become a target. Powerful people would want him as a weapon and powerful beings would want him dead. Either way he would've died long ago."

"She promised that she would let him live."

"Was this before or after you killed Spring and Cinder? Because that would make a difference."

"It doesn't matter. A goddess must keep their word."

"You really believe that?"

"I have to."

"I wish there was a way I could convince you." Rain cracked his knuckles, "But I'll settle for stopping you."

Pyrrha swung her new spear down towards Rain. He caught it in his right hand and sent three billion joules straight up the weapon and into her arm. She was launched back with a concussive explosion. Rain was left holding her spear.

"Well," Rain said, throwing her spear to the side, "that was easy."

The Soldiers just stared, stunned.

"It's been a bit of a weird day. Let's go see if Reg is done yet."

"What took you so long?" Banner asked.

"Why were you outside?" Moria asked.

"I told you: it's been a weird day. Now let's go before she gets back up."

The six of them charged down the path, trying to avoid memory inducing areas and dragging each other out when they couldn't.

"Hey, boss. I got a question." Flare said.

"What?"

"Why does this place make you relive your memories?"

"It's some ancient magic bullshit to make you 'reflect on your soul' or something."

"Wow. That is bullshit."

"I know, right?"

They finally saw the end of the path. Reg was wiring the last explosive to the walls. He turned to them. "You being here is either very good or very bad. Do I still get to blow the path?"

"Yes, you lovable lunatic." Rain put him in a headlock and delivered a noogie.

"But how are we gonna leave?" Moria asked.

"The wind outside blows south. It should get us back to the entrance quickly."

Flare looked around the cavern they were in. "This is it?"

"What?"

"I expected it to be bigger. She's basically one-quarter of a god, right? I thought she would have something a bit more opulent."

"More like one-fifth. How do you know that, anyway?"

"You told us. Didn't you?"

"No I didn't. See, _I_ didn't even know that until about an hour ago. So how did you know?"

Flare started backing up away from the group.

"Flare. What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Rain. It wasn't supposed to go down like this."

"Flare?" Banner looked at her confusedly, "What are you talking about?"

"It's okay, boss." Lucian spoke up from the entrance. He was holding the explosives in his hand. "I know what she's talking about."

"Lucian, what the hell. We need those." Banner berated Lucian. He turned to Rain, "Boss, tell him to put the charges down."

Rain just stood there, looking down. Somehow he'd put his mask on without any of them noticing. "It was in Mistral, wasn't it?"

"What was in Mistral?" Banner stood between the two of them, still not grasping the obvious.

"Yeah, boss. If it makes you feel better: I was supposed to kill you in your sleep." Lucian ignored Banner.

"What are you talking about, Lucian?" Banner's head was snapping back and forth between the two of them. The other Soldiers were gathering around now.

"So you would kill me like a coward? After everything that we've been through? The least you owe me is a fair fight."

"If this were going to be a fair fight I would lose. Can't have that."

Rain drew out a dog whistle. "I'm gonna make you wish you were de-ahh."

Rain turned around with a knife in his back. Flare stood there, shocked at what she had just done.

"Oh, you bitch. I knew I should have killed you with your family." He reached out and grabbed her arm with his left, freezing them together. "But killing you in a frozen wasteland will have to do."

Flare started screaming as he drained her aura. He took it all the way to the brink of ending her life, but pulled back at the last second. Instead, he picked up the dagger which had been pushed out of his back and slit her throat.

Rain stumbled a bit and looked at the other Soldiers. "Somebody get over here. I need a bit more aura." He noticed through a bit of blurred vision that none of them were moving. "What's wrong with you blurry bastards? Get over here and help me!"

Pierce strolled over to him, whistling a merry tune. "You don't look too good, guv'nor. Allow me to explain what you can't see: Reg and Lucian are holding Moria and Banner. Also, that knife seems to be glistening a nasty shade of green." He reached down and brought the dagger to his nose. "Oh, this is one of my 'special' knives. Now I wonder how Flare got hold of that."

"I'll kill you, you bastard!"

"Actually, it looks like _I_ killed _you_. So as soon as you finally knock off, We'll go in and catch that Maiden to offer her up to Salem as a gift. I'm sorry you had to go out like this, bruv. You deserve something better."

"I deserve your traitorous heads on a pike, you ingrates!"

"And how ya gonna do that six feet under?" He stood up and seemed to remember something, "Don't worry about your collection of teenagers: I'll take good care of them."

Something could be heard whistling through the air. Rain heard a thunk and saw Pierce's body collapse. His head was stuck to a wall by a crystalline arrow.

Rain heard somebody walk over to him. Through his narrowing band of vision Rain could make out white boots with heels. Then he felt someone grab his hand. "Take it." A voice beside him commanded.

He didn't know how she knew what his power was, but at this point he didn't really care. He could feel her aura flowing into him. It was unlike any he'd ever felt. There was a... radiance to it that nobody else ever had. It revitalized him and he could feel the poison leaking out of his pores.

When he had regained his strength, he let go of the connection. He stood up and got his first look at the Winter Maiden.

"Oh, come on. Really? No. That is too obvious."

"What better cover?"

The woman facing him – holding a bow in one hand and wearing a sword on her hip – was Winter Schnee.

"How do you know about me?"

"The Maidens were told a lot more than you think."

"It was the General, wasn't it."

"Yes."

"That guy is always looking for an advantage."

"So I'm assuming the wolf and the man with matches in his beard are the bad guys. Do you want me to take care of it?"

"Do whatever you want to beard boy. The wolf is mine."

Lucian and Reg threw the others to the ground and got into ready stances. Rain and Lucian rushed at each other. Right before they traded blows time seemed to freeze. A moment later, twenty arrows flew by and crucified Reg on the wall.

Lucian and Rain both stopped to stare at Winter. Her bowstring was smoking.

Rain recovered first and blasted Lucian through the chest with all the energy Dust left in his gauntlet. Although that should have done a lot, it felt like more than it should have been. Lucian slumped to the floor with a six-inch diameter hole where his heart and lungs were.

"Boss," Banner stared at him like he was a monster, "that was a bit much, don't you think?"

"Not in the slightest. Now we need to get out of here, because I finally – finally – managed to find a Maiden without her dying."

"We still have the Dark Maiden to worry about." Moria said with her usual emotionless demeanour.

"Fuck. I think the best thing for it is to run." The ground rumbled underneath them. "Yeah. Definitely run."

* * *

 **A.N: So shit went down. But hey, at least this Maiden is alive... for now. Also, you had to see this coming. Don't blame me for any characters dying; they knew what they were getting into. I don't think I'll be dong backstory chapters for the others after this. Maybe one for Rain. Also, sorry it took so long to respond to your review, _hirshja_.**


	28. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: Explosions and Chaos**

Team RWBY sat on the main deck, waiting for Rain. Just sitting and waiting. Barney was walking around the ship, familiarizing himself with the layout and weapons' systems.

"So what do you think they're doing right now?" Ruby asked while sharpening Crescent Rose.

"I'm sure they're just taking their time getting back." Yang responded.

* * *

"Shit, shit, shit." Rain was muttering to himself as he ran above the ice, dodging explosive blasts coming through the ground.

* * *

"Yeah, I'm sure he's fine." Blake said.

* * *

An explosion threw Rain twenty feet into the air and he came down face-first. Luckily he was able to throw his hands out and flip around instead of slamming into the ground.

He looked around and saw the others spread out. None of them had even broken stride while he had flown up and down.

* * *

"Are you sure? He seemed to be a bit reckless." Weiss spoke up.

"That is true..." Yang started.

* * *

Rain jumped off the edge of the ice wall and started free-falling. He used his ice Dust to build a slide around himself. He shot out of the end at full speed and immediately began running towards the city. He didn't have to check to see if the others were behind him.

* * *

"But I'm sure he's fine." Yang finished.

* * *

Rain had just gotten to the edge of the city when he heard a massive sound of crashing ice behind him. Shortly afterwards, sirens could be heard all over the city.

* * *

"That doesn't sound very good." Weiss protested.

Barney showed up behind Ruby. "We should get the ship ready to depart."

Ruby flew forward in surprise and landed on her face, bum in the air.

"Cute butt. But seriously, we should get moving. Those sirens are not a good sign."

* * *

Rain kept focus on moving forward while pretending to ignore the sounds of building being demolished behind him.

As he got closer to the harbour he could hear the destruction getting farther behind as the city's army woke up to the threat in their territory.

He saw the harbour and the yacht making it's way to the mouth. As he watched, Moria and Banner jumped aboard. Winter couldn't be seen. He sighed and ran over to the ship.

"Hey." he yelled up to the deck.

"What's up?" Barney poked his head over the railing.

"I need something with a lot of kick. Winter still isn't out of the city and Pyrrha is on our ass."

"I saw the armoury earlier. Give me a minute."

Banner replaced him at the railing. "Are you sure you don't want one of my syringes?"

"Are you crazy? Who knows what would happen if we killed somebody with three maidens' powers? It's too dangerous to kill her."

"Fair enough. You want some help?"

"No. I need you and the others manning the cannons in case we get back with Pyrrha in tow."

Barney reappeared at the railing. "Try this." He threw a package down to Rain.

Rain looked inside and looked back up at Barney. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Atlesian buildings are Dust-proof to a certain extent."

"Okay." Rain closed the package and ran back into the city.

* * *

Winter was thrown into a building and fell to the ground, her sword flying out of her hand. Pyrrha landed on top of her and raised a glowing knife. "I wish I didn't have to do this."

"I know." Winter closed her eyes, preparing for the worst.

"I'll do my best to protect your sister." Pyrrha said.

"Thank you."

A whistling sound could be heard coming towards the two of them. It got closer and closer until Pyrrha was launched off of Winter and through another building.

Rain walked up, holding a grenade launcher with massive grenades in the cylinders. He looked down at Winter. "We're even. Now get up and get to the harbour. My ship is setting out. Get on it. I'll deal with her."

Winter got to her feet and stumbled around. "Where's my sword?"

Rain kept his eyes on the building he'd sent Pyrrha through, gun raised. "Does it matter? I've got hundreds of weapons on the ship. I can just give you a new one."

"It was from my mother."

"So?"

"She's dead."

"Dammit. Okay, just find it quickly. She'll recover soon."

Winter stumbled around and found her sword stuck in a large chunk of concrete. She pulled, but it wouldn't come out.

"What's taking so long?" Rain shouted.

"It's stuck in some concrete. I can't pull it out."

"You have magic. Blow up the concrete."

"Riiiight." She summoned up some fire and sent it inside the crack her sword was in before building it to explosive levels. The concrete fell apart like a sandcastle.

"Got it."

"Good. Now run!"

Winter ran as fast as she could and managed to get to the harbour in a few minutes. The second she stepped on the boat, she heard a series of massive explosions from the city center.

She felt her sister slam into her with a bearhug. "Winter! Oh I missed you."

"I missed you too, Weiss." She patted Weiss's head.

"Wait." Weiss took a step back, "Are you the Winter Maiden?"

"Yes, I am."

"That is too obvious."

"That's what Rain said."

"Um, hi, miss Schnee." Ruby had gotten close without Winter noticing. "What happened to my brother?"

"He's your brother?!"

A few seconds later Rain burst out of an alleyway at full sprint. "Go! Go! I just pissed her off! We need to go now!" He was screaming at the people on board the yacht.

* * *

When he got on the boat, the alley he had just come out of exploded, with Pyrrha emerging from the dust at twenty miles an hour. And flying through the air.

"She just will not stop." Rain looked at Barney. "Throw me at her."

"What? Are you nuts?"

"Yes. Now throw me."

Barney picked up Rain with his metal arm and spun around a few times before releasing him towards Pyrrha.

Rain flew through the air and managed to grab onto Pyrrha in midair. Her powers kept her in midair, but Rain started draining her aura. Pyrrha just grit her teeth and tried to break him off. Just like Winter's aura, Pyrrha's felt different from everyone else's. But where Winter's had been like a soothing campfire, Pyrrha's was a scouring forest fire that burned his veins.

"To your credit, most people scream when I do this." Rain told her through clenched teeth.

Pyrrha started wavering and finally fell out of the air. Rain tried to curl around her when they hit the water. It was a good thing that he took most of the impact, because her aura was starting to burn him.

Rain floated on his back – keeping Pyrrha floating beside him – while he waited for the ship to turn around and get him. As he floated, he contemplated what had just happened. He had just killed most of his team and captured a demigod. He supposed that was pretty good, but he was a little perturbed: He had fought several enemies today that were easily the top echelon of warriors Remnant had to offer. Victory over the Soldiers and Wilhelm Schnee were forgone conclusions. But beating Pyrrha? That was remarkable. Especially after almost dying from a poisoned dagger.

The yacht eventually sailed into view alongside him and several crewmen jumped into the water to grab the two of them. He decided to fall asleep while they were hoisting him up the side of the ship.

* * *

Rain awoke to find he had been placed in his bed. Looking around he saw Blake sitting beside him.

"You had us worried." She said.

"You think falling into the ocean from thirty feet after having a clash of wills with a demigod would kill me? It's like you don't know me at all, Blake."

"Shut up. Ruby was on the verge of tears until she heard you snoring."

Rain sighed, "Now that, I am sorry about. It's been a long and weird day. What did you guys do with Pyrrha?"

"She's in a cell, unconscious. We were hoping you would wake up soon so you could drain her again."

"Before I do that, I need to speak with Winter."

"Why?"

"I need to test a theory."

* * *

They found Winter in the conference room with Weiss. The two of them were catching up and Winter was explaining exactly what she was.

"Hello there." Rain said as he strolled in. "Weiss, I need to talk to your sister."

"But-"

Winter silenced Weiss with a touch on her shoulder. "It's okay Weiss. There are some things that we need to discuss in private."

Blake took Weiss by the arm and dragged her out of the room.

"Now that they're gone we can get down to business." Rain clapped his hands together. "Your aura feels weird."

"What?"

"Well I've absorbed a lot of different auras over my few years of life and you and Pyrrha have unique auras."

Winter sat down, motioning for Rain to sit as well. That pissed him off a little: This was _his_ ship, after all. "Explain." She said.

Rain sat down across from her. "I assume Ironwood told you all about my abilities."

"Yes."

"Including the drawback of my semblance?"

"Yes."

"Well, that saves time. When I was taking your aura, I felt something within it. It was like a soothing flame within the boundless energy of your soul. I felt something similar with Pyrrha, but more akin to a raging inferno that nearly set me on fire. I think it has something to do with you being a maiden."

"That makes sense."

"Except it doesn't. See, when I forcefully take aura, it feels the same as when it is freely given – except it stings like a bitch. But with that extra part of Pyrrha's aura, it felt like it was purposely attacking me. Almost like it knew who I was. Does that make sense?"

"Is it possible that the wizard from the story had encountered someone like you before and added that as protection?"

"Unlikely. I know the wizard and he said he had never come across anyone with my semblance before." He saw the disbelieving look on her face. "I should also mention that Ozpin is the wizard."

"Makes sense."

"I know, right? Once you think about it, it all clicks together. Anyways, I have another theory. I think her power lashing out at me could be a result of either the combined powers of three maidens, or the fact that she stole her powers."

"And you're telling me this because?"

"I need you to not give me permission to take your aura."

"Rain Branwen, I hereby deny you the use of my aura. What now?"

"This." Rain leaped forward and latched onto her arm, draining her aura. The maiden part of her aura immediately started burning him from the inside and he fell over, screaming in agony.

Winter rushed over to him. "What's wrong?"

"It burns! Oh gods, it burns!"

"What should I do?"

"Hit me until I expend it all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now do it before-"

 _Rainbow..._

"Wait a second." Rain raised a hand. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

 _Hello there, Rain. I've been expecting you for a long time._

"Who are you?"

 _I could be a friend, or an enemy, depending on you. I am Salem. But not from your present. I implanted this in the power of the Maidens because I foresaw your arrival long ago._

"What's so special about me?"

 _You are most special, dear boy. You hold the fate of Remnant in your hands. Now, what I must let you know is-_

She was cut off by Winter slamming her fist into his gut, expending the aura he had taken from her.

"What did you do that for?" He screamed at her.

"You were talking to strange voices and you started to literally smoke."

"I was just about to find out Salem's plan."

"What? Are you sure you weren't hallucinating from the intense pain?"

"No. She said that she had predicted me and my powers. She wanted me as an ally."

"You didn't say yes, did you?" Winter put her hand on her sword.

"Obviously not. But it would be good to know what she is planning."

"It's not worth it. She might have just been trying to kill you."

"Yeah, I guess." Rain stood up. "And there is always another way to figure out the plan."

* * *

They found Pyrrha in a cell with Barney holding a shotgun to her head.

"Hello. Are you feeling alright? Getting enough to eat?" Rain asked her as he opened the cell door

She just stared at him with the angry glare of the defeated.

"Oh, come on. I want to open a dialogue with you. Can't do that if you don't speak."

"How did you take my aura?" She spat out

"There's your voice. To answer your question: it's my semblance. I can manipulate aura."

"That's impossible. Nobody has ever had that. Every semblance is unique, but after awhile you find repeats throughout history. Yours would definitely have shown up in the history books."

"I don't officially exist. I'm not gonna be in any history books. My semblance will only be recorded in some deep dark file on some hidden mainframe somewhere underground. Probably in Atlas. I will disappear from history as soon as everybody I know is dead. You might be remembered as the girl who was burnt to ash, came back to life, and went on a rampage. I won't. At most I'll be a legend. Now help me make that legend one where I kill the oldest evil mankind has ever known. Tell me what her plan is."

"That's a sad future for you, but I don't know anything. So can you kill me or whatever you're planning to do? This is just boring."

"So rude. I'm conveying my deep pain to you. How could yo- hahaha." Rain started laughing. "I'm sorry. I couldn't say that with a straight face. But I also highly doubt that you _wouldn't_ get all the information you could about this situation. Now I'm giving you another chance to tell me wilfully: what is Salem's plan?"

Pyrrha leaned forward. "Go to hell."

"Barney?"

"Yeah?"

"Shoot her."

The shotgun went off and Pyrrha went flying out of her chair.

"Ow. You asshole." Pyrrha was on the ground, her aura depleted from absorbing the massive gunshot to her head.

Rain grabbed her by the breastplate and punched her in the face. "What is her plan?!"

"I don't know."

Rain punched her again. "Bullshit!"

"Rain." Winter grabbed his arm. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Getting results." He pulled his arm back for another punch.

"Okay. Please stop hitting me. She wants to burn everything Ozpin built."

"That's the goal, not the plan. What is her plan?"

"That's all she would tell me. I swear. Please don't hurt me."

"Since when were you a coward?"

"Since I got shot and wailed on by two psychopaths."

"I'm glad that we could facilitate your change. Now what is the plan?"

"I. Don't. Know."

"Fine. Where is she?"

"Give me a map and I can show you."

* * *

 **A.N: Okay. I know these last few chapters have been a little... oddly paced. But I think I know what the problem is. I've been binge-watching House and it might have affected my writing. Now that I have diagnosed the issue, I should be able to correct it. I liked this chapter, though.**


	29. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Talking Weapons**

Once Pyrrha had detailed exactly where Salem's lair was and precisely how little she had set up a defence, they allowed her to see Jaune.

"What happened to him?" Pyrrha asked, holding his hand in a death grip.

"Not entirely sure. I turned off his powers and he's been in a coma ever since. It's been about a week." Rain responded.

"You can't wake him up?"

"We've tried everything. I don't know what else to do. It's a shame; we needed to test his powers. We're about to walk into a fight that he could win in a second."

"What do all the stories have in common? Maybe there's something there to explain it."

"I thought of that. All the stories can agree on is that the sword is the ultimate destructive force on Remnant, and the shield is it's polar opposite. Some legends even claim that the shield could heal any injury..." Rain froze and hit himself in the head over and over. "Stupid, stupid, stupid. How could I not see it?"

"See what?" Pyrrha asked, a bit scared.

"The shield. If it can heal a wound..." Rain said it as though trying to lead her to a thought.

"...then it could bring him out of a coma." Pyrrha finished.

"Yes." Rain went over to the dresser and pressed on a secret panel. It slid back to reveal Crocea Mors. He plucked them out of the hiding spot, flung the sword away, and placed the shield in Jaune's hands.

Pyrrha leaned in close. "Shouldn't something have-"

The shield exploded with white light, blinding Pyrrha and Rain. When their temporary blindness had dispersed they could see Jaune sitting up in bed, the shield on the floor.

Jaune looked around, confused. "Where... am I?"

Pyrrha leaped forward and crushed Jaune in a bear hug, tears streaming down her face.

Jaune just started patting her back and making reassuring sounds. "It's okay, Pyrrha."

Rain walked over to the door. "I think I'll leave you two alone for now. Pyrrha can explain what's happened."

Jaune pushed Pyrrha back a bit and looked into her eyes. "What happened?"

Pyrrha was still crying. "So many bad things, Jaune."

* * *

"So the girl tries to kill most of you and she gets a free pass because she was screwed over by the big bad." Barney was conversing with Rain on the bow of the yacht.

"Yup." Rain responded. "Got a problem with that?"

"Nope. Just getting it clear." Barney looked out towards the horizon. "So where are we off to now? I would assume Salem's lair, but that's west of Atlas. Why are we heading south?"

"The original mission was to find the maidens and get them to a protected location. That's where we're going."

Barney raised an eyebrow. "And then?"

"And then I will have to have a very awkward conversation."

Before Barney could ask what he meant by that, Moria came rushing up to them.

"Hey, boss." she said, oddly anxious

"What's up, Moria?"

"What was that big flash of light that went across the yacht?"

"That was from Jaune's shield. I remembered that some legends involved the shield being able to heal wounds and..."

"It woke him up." She finished. "Well that explains what I came to talk to you about." She lifted her chin, baring her neck. "I had a cut there that was scarring up due to my aura healing me. The skin there is completely smooth. I'm also missing several scrapes from our dash through the city."

"So you're saying the light healed all your wounds?"

"No. It didn't fix my older scars."

"That's odd. I wonder why it chose not to heal those."

"I think I might be able to explain that." Barney interjected.

Rain motioned with his hand. "Go on."

"Well, obviously it didn't heal my arm. But it healed some of my older scars. I think that it can tell what scars you don't care about and which ones are a part of who you are. It would explain why it didn't fix Moria's tattoos. Because those scars are a part of who she is."

"Makes sense." Moria nodded.

"That would imply that his weapons are somehow sentient, though." Rain said. "That's a scary thought."

"No scarier than anything else we've dealt with recently." Moria cut into his melancholy.

"That _is_ true. Between gods and maidens and monsters, sentient weapons wouldn't be much of a stretch. Hell, I even time-travelled. And that was yesterday evening."

Barney and Moria looked completely shocked. Barney was the first to speak up. "I'm sorry, it sounded like you said 'time travel'. There's no way that's true, is it?"

"Oh, shit. I didn't mean to mention that yet. Another of the 'gods' came to me in between the Schnee mansion and the Maiden's Path. He took me through time and alternate dimensions to show me what impact my choices would have. Then he dropped me back when I was."

"You are far too nonchalant about that." Moria looked at him with the look most people reserve for crazy people.

"I know how it sounds, but it's true. He told me I would make a heroic choice and if I made the wrong one: the grimm win. So that sucks."

"So don't make the wrong one." Barney said.

"Gee, thanks. Why didn't I think of that? It's so simple." Rain rolled his eyes.

"Just trying to help."

"You helped by doing nothing." Rain looked at his wrist. "Pyrrha should be about done with the story by now. I need to speak with Jaune."

* * *

"I forgive you, Pyrrha."

"Thank you, Jaune." She collapsed into his arms. "Thank you."

Rain kicked open the door. "Okay. You two are all caught up. Jaune, pick up the shield."

"Why?"

"Do it." Rain barked at him.

Jaune jumped out of bed and picked up his shield. Unlike with the sword, he seemed to be exactly the same.

Rain cleared his throat. "I'm addressing the spirit of the shield. Do you have a name? If so, what is it?"

Jaune's eyes glazed over yellow. "My name is Crocea." A voice deeper than the abyss came from his mouth. "What can I do for you?"

"Wow. Honestly didn't expect you to respond. Hello. My name is Rain Branwen. I just wanted to understand how you and your partner work. I figured it was safer to talk to you."

"That beast is not my 'partner', as you put it. Think of me as more of a jailer. Mors is too destructive to be left unchecked."

"But you originally existed separately."

"Not true. The original Arcs who used us were twins. Twins have a minor telepathic link. Just strong enough for me to suppress Mors without cancelling the power from either of us. We should only be used by twins. That risk you took in Mistral almost destroyed the entire continent. Mors almost burned away Jaune's mind."

"But you were able to fix him."

"Do not attempt to justify your actions." Crocea's voice was like thunder. "You were reckless and arrogant. You put millions of lives in danger because you thought _you_ could stop anyone. If you use Mors by himself again, I will ensure your death."

"But we need Mors's power to destroy Salem." Rain tried to explain to Crocea. "She wants to destroy humanity and burn the world."

"Maybe this world has survived long enough. Maybe it's time it ended."

Rain was shocked into silence.

Pyrrha spoke up next. "Maybe we do deserve that. But _you_ don't get to make that call."

"You were willing to kill everyone on Remnant to protect your friends. Do not speak to me of who gets to make what call, girl." Crocea managed to turn the word girl into a slur.

"That's true. I was willing to kill a whole lot of people. I have no claim on the moral high ground. I was scared and I protected myself. But that is not humanity. Humanity is so much better than the individuals who are a part of it. Humanity can put aside their differences and prejudices to defend each other and their way of life. We have definitely had our problems along the way, but we _learn_ from those problems to prevent them from happening again. Despite all the terrible things people can and have done, humanity keeps moving forward."

"That's a pretty speech, but it hardly changes my-"

"I wasn't finished." Pyrrha cut him off. "The day may come when humanity will falter and succumb to the grimm. When evil will take root and destroy us from within. The day may come when we are nothing but dust and long-forgotten legends. But this is not that day. We face overwhelming odds, yes. But humanity has held off overwhelming odds since the dawn of time. We will find a way to succeed and survive. With or without you."

"It's been awhile since I've encountered a human who understood humanity so well. Perhaps we can figure out a way to keep Mors in check, together. Of course, we could always speak to him directly. But I don't believe that would be helpful to anyone here. Unless you want your boat to get caught on fire."

"I've got a question first." Rain spoke up. "Why did you heal some wounds and not others?"

"Imagine a man who was a complete asshole to everyone he ever met. Then he lost his hand or leg or something. Losing that appendage allows him to realize how alone he is in the world. So he starts working hard to become a better man, and the missing appendage is a constant reminder of who he was. Now imagine giving him back that appendage after he had become a good man. He might start to fall back into his old ways because he thinks he didn't need to change if he could always become whole again. So now you've taken a good man who beat his inner darkness and allowed him to be seduced by it once more. Injuries can change people for the better. Scars make you humble. No scars make you a cocky dick."

"Okay. A little long-winded, but whatever. Is Jaune aware of what's going on right now?"

"Oh yeah. He's fully conscious. He won't shut up about getting my help. It's actually very annoying. Especially since I already agreed to it. Speaking of which: I had an idea."

Rain raised an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"Your semblance is aura manipulation, correct?"

"Yes sir. And I think I see where you're going."

"If you held onto both me and Jaune, the power transferring through both of you would be a mix of your two auras. That could allow us to fight like the twins did in ancient days. It's a long shot, but..."

"If it works, we're golden. Let's go up to the deck to test it."

Crocea leaned down to pick up Mors. When he came back up, Jaune's eyes were back to normal and he had sheathed Mors. "Well, that was a weird experience." Jaune looked between Pyrrha and Rain. "So we doing this or what?"

"Yeah." Rain walked into the hallway. "Time's wasting."

An explosion rocked the ship and set them all reeling.

"What was that?" Jaune yelled when the rumbling stopped.

"Either someone firing the cannons on side all at once," another explosion almost sent them to their feet again. "or just another problem I'm going to have to deal with." He pulled his right hand down through the air, leaving a swirling, yellow gap in the air. He quickly stepped through...

* * *

...and emerged into a war zone on his yacht. Small fires were dwindling around his deck and most people were ducked behind some overturned tables. In the center of the main deck was Yang, floating right-side-up in the pool and pissed off by the looks of things.

Rain swept his head around to find out who could have done this to her. He couldn't find anyone until his gaze alighted on a raven sitting on an umbrella and looking for all the world like it owned the whole ship.

Rain walked up to it. "YOU!" he screamed, "You couldn't have given me even a little bit of time to help ease her into it?"

"Rainbow, my boy," the Raven flew up and alighted on the shoulder of a helmeted woman who had appeared behind Rain. "Why were you yelling at Odin? He's done nothing to you."

Rain launched forward with a right hook aimed at her face. It was intercepted by her sword and he was propelled backwards in an explosion. He rolled to his feet and turned to face her. "I thought he was you, you psycho bitch."

"Now, now," the woman removed her mask, revealing a face nearly identical to Yang's. "Is that any way to speak to your mother?"

Audible gasps could be heard from the overturned tables. Rain ignored them and stared Raven down. "Says the woman who used to call me a son-of-a-bitch."

Raven let out a small laugh, just enough to let him know that she wasn't there to make small talk. Classic mom. "We need to talk."

"No. You two," Rain pointed to Raven and Yang. "need to talk. Why are you here early? We're heading to you anyway."

"I just wanted to see who it was that had stolen my boy's heart. I find it interesting that you chose a faunus."

"Says the woman who can shapeshift into a bird. Or is it because she's part cat? Is the birdie afraid of the kitty?"

Raven swept her sword up to Rain's throat. "You would do well to remember the results of mocking me."

"No, mother." Rain moved the sword away with a finger. "You would do well to remember who you raised. If one could call what you did to me 'raising a child.'"

Raven shook with rage before sheathing her sword and turning towards the bow. "Hopefully you cool off before you come see me on Vytal." With that, she pulled out her red blade and slashed opened a portal. "Or I might have to remind you exactly how unique my parenting style was." She walked through the portal and was gone.

The others slowly started moving forward to check on Rain and Yang. Barney was the first to get to Rain. "Can I just ask: What the fuck was that?"

"Family troubles." Rain turned around and walked over to Yang.

Ruby tried to stop him. "Now might not be a good time."

Rain pushed her out of the way. "Yang, I know you are very angry right now, but I can explain-"

Rain was hurled across the deck by an explosive rocket blast of a punch. Yang ran over and started slamming him into the deck. "You think I'm angry?" She practically screamed the words. "I'm way past that now. I'm past rage and fury, too. I don't even think they have a word for what I'm feeling. You knew the whole time? You knew where she was and you didn't tell me. Why?"

Rain caught her fists and held them in place. "I didn't tell you because you needed to be eased into it. You hate her guts immensely. Look at what just happened. You got your ass handed to you by her. Do you really think it would have gone any better when we had first met? No, it wouldn't have. If she hadn't done what she always does, this wouldn't be happening. Now calm down and wait until we arrive at Vytal."

Yang proceeded to growl at Rain.

"Okay. How about this: She was scared of me when she left. Just like Qrow was. If she fears me, she'll be wondering what you can do as well. And with my help, you can be ready to take her down. First thing will be controlling your anger."

"Why would I listen to you?"

"Because she threatened Blake. And Blake is someone we both care about."

* * *

 **A.N:So that happened. I didn't realize until after I'd written the part where Rain stone-facedly moves away Raven's sword that I realized it almost perfectly mirrored the scene with Qrow. Also, with Volume 4 having come out, I will finish this, but I will not adjust it to fit the new information from the show. I came up with this before that and I will stick to it until I am done.**


	30. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Birds**

Rain built an ice platform behind and connected it to the yacht. He and Yang jumped onto it and the ship resumed it's course.

"Okay," Rain shouted over the engines, "We're going to work to activate your secondary semblance."

"What do you mean?" Yang responded.

"It's a trait of the Branwens. Everyone in the bloodline can turn into a bird. Over time, that bloodline has been so diluted, mixed-up, and lost that there are people all over the world who don't know about their heritage. The bird form can stay hidden under the primary semblance for your whole life unless you know how to activate it."

"How do you activate it?"

"It's different for each person. The key to unlocking it always lies within your primary semblance and often your bird form has something to do with your primary semblance."

"What's yours? Your bird form, I mean."

Rain sighed. "Promise you won't laugh."

Yang held three fingers in the air. "Huntress's Honour."

"Weren't you only in training?"

"I'd say the shit we've been through lately is more than other Hunters have gone through."

Rain raised an eyebrow. "Not really."

Yang sighed. "Just shut up and turn into a bird already."

Rain spun on his toes and in his place sat a condor with red feathers and yellow skin.

Yang burst out laughing. "That fits so well. Ha ha." Yang struggled to stand up.

The condor flew up into the air and landed as Rain. "Shut it. Now start burning up."

Yang slowly wound down her laughter. "What?"

"Use your semblance. We need to push it past the limit." Rain slapped his hand onto the platform and ice grew up around Yang. "So get out of there."

Yang started shouting at him, but he couldn't hear her through the ice. "You can't get out there by screaming. Burn it down."

Yang's hair started to glow gold and tongues of fire leaped around her. But the ice wasn't melting. She tried to increase the amount of fire she had going to no avail. No matter how much fire she poured out, the ice would not melt.

"Better figure it out soon, sis." Rain looked at his watch. "You don't have a lot of air left."

Yang was starting to panic now. She was getting light-headed and her flames were petering out. As her vision dimmed, her anger became more focused. All the extra things she was angry about faded away until it was just her rage at being trapped. At that moment something clicked. Her hair erupted in new flames. But instead of the usual yellow flames, these swam in burnished gold and cobalt blue.

"Now you're doing it." Rain clapped his hands together and more ice grew over her cage. "Burn hotter. Burn brighter! Focus that rage onto one source until nothing else remains. Not me, not the platform, not anything. Sharpen your fury to cut down that which you are focused on."

Yang's vision kept getting dimmer, but as her senses failed her, her mind became more focused. With so little input, focus was perfect. Her rage sharpened past just anger at being trapped. It became anger at a loss of freedom. It moved onto anger at her weakness. Everything else started burning away until her anger was pure anger. Not anger at anything in particular. But the pure rage that only the disciplined and the insane can conjure.

As soon as she got to that stage, she erupted into a pillar of flames that evaporated her cage and began boiling the ocean. Rain attempted to shield his face with his arms, but they started burning. Just when he thought he would die, the pillar burst apart.

Standing where an inferno had just been was a bird. It was about the size of a hawk, but with golden feathers. It started looking around and at itself in confusion. It flapped its wings and its true power was revealed. Its body rippled with bright blue flames that were hard to look at.

"I figured yours would be a phoenix. Now change back."

She just looked at him and squawked.

"Oh, right. Changing back can be difficult sometimes. Just do the opposite of whatever you did to transform. Since your trigger was anger, maybe try focusing on... forgiveness? Happiness? It could literally be anything. Try everything. I'm gonna start testing things with Jaune. Find me when you can change back."

* * *

"Come on, man. We need to get this. I don't need to tell you how important this is." Rain was getting frustrated with Jaune.

"I know that. But we can't fake a telepathic link through aura transfer!" Jaune was getting even more frustrated than Rain. They'd been trying for an hour to find a way to use both weapons, but had come up with jack and his cousin, shit.

"Well if _we_ can't fake it, maybe one of you sisters could help."

"No." Jaune's tone brooked no argument. "They don't want anything to do with fighting, let alone the situation we're in right now."

"But if we can't control your powers, it won't matter. Salem will win and humanity will burn. I've seen it."

Jaune seemed to be struggling for a way around bringing one of his sisters into their plans. "Well, Salem needs the Maidens, right? So if we just keep them in a protected location, she can't implement her plan and we win, right?"

"That might work for a few years. Hell, it might work for a few centuries. But eventually we won't be able to protect the power of the Maidens. We need to end this shit here and now or future generations will be having the same damn argument. And they probably won't have someone who even could kill Salem."

"Then I'll just use Mors and you can knock me out before I kill everyone else." Jaune spoke as if he didn't even believe the words.

Rain's face softened and he put a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "I know that you don't want anyone else you care about to die. But that's just a chance with our plan. If we don't try, then everyone you love will die."

Jaune sighed. "Promise me that you will not force or coerce them into it. If they don't want to do it, we find another way."

Rain stuck out his hand. "Deal."

Jaune shook his hand. "Thank you."

"No problem." Yang could be seen walking towards them. "I've recently learned what it is to care about family. It's a terrible feeling."

"That's... definitely one way to put it."

"You jackass!" Yang shouted.

"Hey, Yang." Rain turned to her. "I see you managed to change back. Out of curiosity: what was the trigger to turn back?"

Yang seemed to zone out. "It doesn't matter."

"Okay, not pulling the pin on that one."

"Smart, big brother." Yang's countenance flipped on a dime. "So what are you going to teach me about how to fight while a bird?"

"Oh, we're good. Mom's probably gonna shit herself when she realizes that you're a goddamn phoenix."

"Shouldn't we at least cover some basics about flight or something? I feel like that could be important."

Rain seemed to think about it for a second. "Nope. You're a fast learner. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I'll trust you, but you seem too sure of this."

"I think I'm just feeling hopeful because thinks are actually going well for us. Not only did we rescue Winter, but we were able to bring Pyrrha over to our side, meaning we can make all of the Maidens safe. I also stood up to mom for the first time ever, and she backed down. Barring any surprise attacks..." Rain looked around for a few seconds. "We could actually win."

"But we still don't have a surefire way to kill Salem."

"But we have something that can. We've even managed to clean up Remnant a little bit along the way. We ended the White Fang, cleaned up Mistral, killed an evil snake god, and killed some of the worst criminals to ever walk the face of Remnant."

"You mean two-thirds of your team? Most people would be pretty torn up about that."

Rain looked out over the ocean, appearing to be lost in thought. "I was probably going to have to kill them eventually. Lucian was a special kind of crazy, Flare didn't understand the value of life, Reg couldn't have gone too much longer without blowing up a building, and Pierce? Pierce was missing a lot of aspects that most people have: no conscience, a lack of empathy, a disregard for every type of life, and no loyalty whatsoever."

"What about Moria and Banner?"

"Those two are products of the shit that went down in their past. Did you know that they actually fought with me about acceptable casualties? They never wanted to know who we were killing because they didn't want to see our targets as people. Those two have stepped fully into hell, but still try to get into heaven. The others would never be able to rejoin normal society, but Moria and Banner could."

"Rejoin normal society?"

"Yeah. It was always our plan to help them reintegrate once the mission was over. Ozpin didn't even want real criminals in the first place. Barney and his crew were mercenaries, but they weren't specialized killers with loose morals or terrorist psychopaths. I've often wondered why I recruited Lucian in the first place. All I knew about him at the time was that he had been raised by wolves and wanted to kill humanity. Does that seem like Soldier material to you?"

"Not real-"

"I mean," Rain didn't seem to have heard her. "everyone else was either ex-military or a contract killer. They were people who could take orders. But Lucian was the kind of man you walk across town to avoid. He was someone who should have been in a prison out in the middle of the ocean where he couldn't do any harm."

"Why _did_ you recruit him?"

"Huh." Rain seemed to realize Yang was still there. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you were supposed to kill him, right? So why didn't you?"

"Because, well... I actually have no idea."

 **I do. I know exactly why.**

"Sigma? You were chained."

Yang became worried. "Rain? Who's Sigma? There's no one else here."

 **Is that your sister? Maybe when I take over I'll have some fun.**

"Sigma, that's disgusting, even for you. Now tell me why I spared him."

 **How about no. You'll find out soon, anyway. I'm just here to have some fun for awhile.**

"Tell me what happened to Theta and Epsilon."

 **Nope. All I'll say is that their mental distinctiveness is gone.**

"You crazy bastard. Tell me what you've done."

 **You could always retreat into your mind for awhile and find out.**

"Nice try. I do that and you take the wheel for awhile. That's way too dangerous."

 **You used to like working with me. We used to have such fun.**

"And how many innocents did we kill in that time?"

Yang slapped him, hard. "Get your shit together. Who are talking to?"

Rain waited for Sigma's response. When he realized Sigma had retreated, he gave her a shit-eating grin. "Just the voices in my head."

"Okay, then. Don't tell me." Yang stormed off, assumingly back to her room.

"You're not really gone, are you?"

*cricket noises inside Rain's head*

"Holy shit! Cricket? You're still alive?"

*happy cricket noises*

"Oh, that's right. You can't talk. Can you warn me next time Sigma comes out of the depths?"

*agreeable cricket noises*

"I will take that as a yes."

"Land Ho!" A voice announced over the yacht's PA system.

Rain looked out over the bow and saw the island of Vytal on the horizon. "Time for the endgame."

* * *

They made landfall in a hidden harbour on the opposite side of the island from the monument to peace. The remaining Soldiers, Team RWBY, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Winter departed the ship.

"Now I expect you not to steal my yacht." Rain was giving last-minute instructions to Barney. "But if you do, please return her in one piece. This is pretty much the only home I've ever liked."

"I wasn't planning on stealing it, but thanks for me making me feel like a dick for thinking about it." Barney replied.

Rain jumped down to the beach and took his place at the head of the column. "Okay, everybody. Time to make an annoying trek inland that takes a full day."

"Round trip?" Moria asked from the back.

"No."

Everyone made various noises of protest.

"Hey!" Rain yelled to get their attention. "You are all trained warriors. Quit your bitching. We're losing daylight."

* * *

Raven stood on cliff overlooking the harbour. "I don't like lying to him." She said to someone standing in shadow.

"It's for his own good. Everything was set up and agreed upon long ago. When all is said and done, he will be well looked after."

"I'm changing the deal."

"You can't."

"I want protection for his sisters and his girlfriend as well."

"No. You can't change the deal now."

"Tell her that I won't do it unless she guarantees me that those three will be safe."

"You don't understand. She won't agree."

"Then I'm not doing it."

The man seemed to weight the pros and cons and came to a decision. "I'll tell her. But you will have to do something else on top of the deal with the Maidens."

"I'm fine with that."

* * *

 **A.N: I'm honestly kind of tired. Aside from doing this, I'm also working on an actual book. It's hard to keep ideas for both stories separate sometimes. If I don't post for a few weeks, please forgive me. I need to actually work on the story that can help me make money. I know that sounds bad, but money is needed for life. That's not to say that I'm going on hiatus. I will do my best to finish this story. I'm just saying it might take a bit longer than expected.**


	31. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: The end is near**

They had only managed to make it halfway (by Rain's estimate) before they had to set up camp for the night. It didn't take them long to create a defensible position and establish a source of fresh water. When everyone had eaten the stew that Banner made, Rain got up.

"Okay," Rain clapped his hands together. "Time to go over tomorrow's plan."

"We need a plan to meet your mom?" Jaune asked.

"Yes. Of course we do. My mother is a psychopath. We need to be prepared for any chance that she's set up traps."

"But isn't she on our side?" Pyrrha interjected.

"We need to get one thing clear: My mother only fights for herself. Her motivation is always looking after number one. My mother only agreed to work with Ozpin because Salem would have destroyed everything, including her."

"So our mother is even worse than I thought?" Yang asked, stone-faced.

"That's a safe assumption with anyone, really. But yeah, mom's a jackass. However we should get back to the plan. When we get there, I want Ruby, Weiss, and Blake to flank around left and spread out among the foliage. Banner, Moria, and Jaune: do the same on the right. I will walk straight into the compound with Winter, Pyrrha, and Yang. As the four of us draw Raven's attention, you guys will move around until you meet behind the compound. After you meet up, Ruby and Jaune will climb to the watch tower. Jaune, you'll watch Ruby's back while she takes aim at Raven. At the same time, Blake and Banner will move through the compound and find anyone else who might be there. Moria will move up and provide support to my group if we need it. Weiss will stay at the tower with Ruby and Jaune and watch for any other threats. Is anybody unclear on their role?"

"What are the rest of us going to be doing while they do all of that?" Winter asked.

"We are going to treat Raven as if she isn't working with the enemy. But we will also stall her long enough for Blake and Banner to confirm that nobody else is there. Anything else?"

Everyone shook their heads in unison.

"You guys seriously trust me this much? You're just assuming that this hasn't all been a long con to obtain the power of the Maidens? Not that it is, but still. That's weird."

"You've fought for us enough that we would follow you anywhere." Banner said, putting a hand on Moria's shoulder.

"If my team trusts you, then I trust you." Weiss said.

"Ruby trusts you and that's good enough for us." Jaune added, holding Pyrrha's hand.

"I trust my little sister's judgement." Winter finished.

Rain had never imagined that he would have people who trusted him this much. He had given up on that idea a long time ago. "Thank you for trusting me. I'll do my best not to let you down. Everybody get some sleep. I'll take first watch."

Rain walked off into the woods and the others settled down in their tents. All except Banner, Moria, and Blake. The Soldiers stayed up out of a sense of duty. Blake went to check on Rain.

After about a minute walking into the woods, she heard Rain speaking.

"I don't know if I can do this, Oz. The fate of the world balances on my shoulders and now I am having trouble giving up love to save the world. The love of friends and family and Blake. You taught me that emotions were destructible, that I would be better off without them. But you lied to me. If I had known these feelings from the start, I might not be having this issue. I just want some help here, Oz. That goes for you too, Professor. If you wanna drop in and show me what to do again, that would be great."

"I might not be as wise as those two, but I might be able to help." Blake spoke up from behind him.

Rain almost jumped out of his skin. "What the hell? How much did you hear?"

"Everything."

"And do you have any advice to offer?"

"You need to live for the life that you still have. Embrace everything you can. And then, when you have to give the ultimate sacrifice, do that without hesitation. But until then," Blake stood on her toes and kissed him, "Live for the now." Blake continued to kiss him, getting more passionate every time.

"Wait, wait. As enjoyable as this is, I am on watch."

Blake pushed him down and kissed him again. "Don't worry about that. Your Soldiers saw me come here. I'm sure they've already taken over your watch. So we can be out as long as we want."

"How long do you think we'll need?" Rain said through kisses.

"All night, just to be safe." Blake took off her shirt.

"Just to be safe, of course." Rain said before embracing her and giving into the passion.

* * *

"Do you think we'll make it through this?" Banner asked Moria as they circled the campsite.

"I honestly never thought we would, given the circumstances." Moria responded. "But we've gone through a hell of a lot more than most people have and we're still alive. So who knows? Maybe we can make it through this."

"Did you ever think about what you would do afterwards? Like, what did you want to do instead of being a prize-fighter?"

"I always kind of wanted to be a teacher of some sort. Shape young minds and all that. It always seemed like a noble profession. What about you?"

"It was my dream career that led me down this path. Maybe I could be a teacher, too. Chemistry would be an easy subject. We might be able to still work together."

"I''d like that. You were always the most agreeable of the Soldiers."

"Thank you?" Banner didn't know how to accept that statement. "Did you ever think about relationships?"

"What about them?"

"Whether you would want to be in one or not. It's hard for people like us to find good partners. Rain lucked out, but we might not be so lucky."

Moria stopped walking, "If this is a build-up to you asking me out, just skip the crap and ask me."

Banner tried hard to come up with a coherent sentence. "Umm, do you want to go out when this is all over?"

Moria considered it for a moment. "Why not?"

"Why not? Why not?! Goddamn, woman! You could at least say something with some level of emotion."

"Do you want a date with me or not, Banner? If so, shut your trap."

Banner knew when it was time to shut up, but in the darkness, he was grinning like an idiot.

* * *

The next morning, while everybody else was packing up, Rain and Blake emerged from the woods, looking ashamed and wearing rumpled clothes.

"Good job, boss." Banner said into the awkward silence. Moria smacked him in the back of the head.

"Thanks, Banner." Rain looked around. "I see you guys already have my tent packed up."

"Yeah. I knew you'd be sleeping under the stars, if you know what I mean." This time Banner got knocked on his ass by Yang.

"Goddammit, Banner." Rain whispered under his breath. "Let's move out, people." Rain said in his regular tone of voice.

Yang pulled Blake off to the side while the others started their trek. "Okay, Blake. I think we need to have a chat."

"About what happened last night?" Blake asked with trepidation.

"Yeah, about what happened last night! You slept with my brother. What the hell?"

"You've only known he was your brother for a few weeks."

"It still counts!"

Blake let out a sigh. "Look, I'm not entirely sure why I did what I did. But he isn't long for this world. You know that. I just figured he should at least enjoy what time he has left."

Yang deflated. "Maybe you're right. Did you guys at least use protection?"

Blake wouldn't meet Yang's eyes. "Umm... well the thing about that is," Blake disappeared into the foliage.

"I'm gonna kill him." Yang said calmly to herself. "I am definitely gonna kill him." She trudged off into the woods after the others.

* * *

"There it is." Rain pointed towards a large collection of buildings in the distance. "Now everyone start getting in position."

Blake dashed out of the woods and collided with Rain. "Just a heads-up: Your sister is probably gonna kill you."

Rain turned ghost-white. "What did you tell her?"

"Nothing embarrassing. I just kind of ran off when she asked if we used protection."

"RAIN!" Yang came launching out of the woods and her fist connected squarely with his jaw, sending Rain flying off towards the compound. She went rocketing off after him.

Everyone else just stood there, trying to process what had just happened.

"Should we go after them?" Jaune asked, tentatively.

"I think this is something they need to sort out themselves." Blake said.

* * *

Rain crashed into the watch tower at the center of the compound and it crashed down around him. Before he could extricate himself from the wreckage, Yang landed on top of him and started beating him into the dirt.

Rain just let her work out her anger for a few minutes until it started to get annoying. He reached up and grabbed her arm, draining her aura until she collapsed. He then got up, straightened out his clothes, and fed her aura back into her.

Yang sat upright with a start. She looked around until her eyes locked on Rain. "You bastard."

"That's true, but you're whatever the female version is, Yang."

"I think that's still just a bastard." Raven had appeared between the two of them.

Both twins jumped in surprise. "Holy fuck, woman!" Rain shouted.

"Language, son." Raven admonished him.

"Did you just say 'language'?" Yang asked.

"And who was it that raised me while swearing twenty-four-seven?" Rain responded.

"I did not teach you to swear." Raven said.

"But you didn't dissuade me."

"I'm sorry." Yang interjected. "But are we seriously not addressing the fact that she just said 'language'?"

"Quiet, dear." Raven said. "The important people are talking."

Rain levelled an icicle at Raven's throat. "You don't speak to her like that."

"Why are you so protective of a girl you barely know?"

"Because, unlike the I grew up with, _she_ is a good person."

"Nonsense." Raven replied. "You knew Qrow."

"And he was a horrible uncle."

"He always protected you."

"He was usually the one who put me in danger. And he gave me alcohol at the age of twelve. He barely tolerated me. He once told me I should have been drowned at birth."

"He was drunk when he said that."

"He's always drunk!"

Raven sighed, "Look, Rainbow, this conversation is going nowhere. Where is the rest of your group? We need to discuss protection for the Maidens."

"Ozpin always made it seem like it was simple: You protect the Maidens while I go kill the bad guys. Or do I have to leave some of my very small group behind to support your incompetence?"

"When did you become so disrespectful towards me, Rainbow? You used to be incredibly respectful."

"Maybe when I found out that I'm not a sociopath by birth. You made me into the weapon you wanted. I could have had a normal life!"

Raven's face paled. "Who told you that?"

"Someone who was able to show me as well as tell me." Rain's face was like thunder.

"You needed to be who you are for us to win this war."

"We could have prevented the damn war from happening if I were raised like a normal human being. I could have stopped the war if you didn't prevent me from seeing my family. If I had been in Vale during the tournament, that tragedy could have been averted."

"We couldn't risk-"

"Don't even try to justify your actions. Your own daughter lost her damn arm. If I had been there, I could have stopped Cinder and Adam. I could have stopped the war before it started."

"You don't understand."

"No. You don't understand. Every death that followed the tournament is on your hands." Rain visibly restrained himself. "Now, while I go and get my people to settle them in here, you need to have a talk with Yang."

Rain stormed off towards the entrance of the compound. When he was out of earshot, Yang stood up and looked at Raven. "Why did you leave me and take him?"

Raven smirked. "Right to the point. You definitely take after me over your father. Are you sure you want to know this story?"

"Yes."

Raven sat down on a piece of rubble. "A long time ago, before I even knew I was pregnant, I met a strange old woman during a mission. I was wounded and hiding in a cave and she came to help me. While she was healing me, she told me that I was pregnant with twins who carried a great destiny."

"And you believed her?"

"Hell no. I left as soon as I could and didn't look back. Until the morning sickness started. I mad an excuse to leave before it got too obvious that I was pregnant. I made my way back to the cave and found the woman again. She told me that my son would be the greatest warrior of his age, but only if I raised him by myself. She said that if I raised my daughter and son together, great tragedy would befall my daughter. So I left you with your father. The woman was even able to tell me what Rainbow's semblance would be. That's why I named him Rainbow. Because his aura would absorb many colours."

"So you left me because some crazy woman who made a couple good guesses told you to?"

"I wanted to give you your best chance."

"Bullshit!" Yang's hair erupted in flames.

"It's the truth. She told me exactly what he would look like. She told me the day of your birth. She even predicted that Rain would fall in love with a feline faunus. I couldn't deny the truth. I had to give up my chance to raise a family in order to save the world!"

"But why couldn't he meet me after he'd grown up. You weren't even watching him the past five years. What was so terrible that he couldn't be introduced to us even after he was an adult?"

"I don't know. She only told me that great suffering would happen if I didn't raise Rainbow the way I did."

"Well he's all grown up now. Maybe once this is over, you should go home."

"I can't. Your father hates me." Yang thought she could see a tear in the corner of Raven's eye.

"No he doesn't."

"What?"

"He doesn't hate you. He's disappointed in you, but he doesn't hate you. I know he's still in love with you."

"You would help me reconnect with your father? After everything I've done?"

"Normally I wouldn't. But dad deserves to be happy. He wants to be with you, Raven. He's lost so much. He needs a win."

Tears were now obviously streaming down her face. "You mean we might be able to finally be a family?"

"I don't know if I can ever forgive you for what you've done, but I will try for Dad's sake. It would just be the three of us, Ruby, and Uncle Qrow, though."

"What do you mean? Where would Rain be?"

"Rain is fated to die on this mission. We've been told a few times that he needs to die. He's accepted it. I've accepted it. I don't know if Ruby has, but she'll be okay."

"I didn't know. He's really okay with it?" Raven looked contemplative instead of devastated.

"It's how he was raised. He told us that he was taught to do his duty, no matter what."

"Damn!" Raven stood up and started pacing. "Damn, damn, damn."

"What is it?"

"That bitch lied to me."

"What bitch?"

"I need to tell you something I haven't told anyone. Promise to at least let me finish before you get angry."

Yang held up three fingers. "Huntress' Honour."

* * *

Rain had gotten everybody squirrelled away in their rooms and was showing them the mess hall.

"This is where everyone used to eat together."

"Who's 'everyone'?" Moria asked.

"This place used to be a training ground for an ancient group of elite warriors. It went unused for centuries until Ozpin found it and made it a safe haven for the Maidens." Rain responded.

"That's interest-" Blake was cut off by Raven flying through the wall and landing on a table. Yang came running through after her and held her down by her neck.

"Yang!" Rain ran up and tried to pry her arm off Raven's neck. "What the hell?"

"She sold us out!" Yang screamed while tightening her grip.

"She sold us out to who?" Rain asked as he pried her away.

Yang stumbled a bit. "Salem."

The room went dead.

"I told you that wasn't the whole story." Raven said massaging her throat. "I made a deal to save my children, Ruby, and Blake. We can't win. She can't be defeated."

"Yes she can. We have a weapon that can kill her." Rain said.

"No, you don't. That weapon was forged for her body guards. She created them. They can't kill her."

Jaune stepped forward. "You're saying my family was made to serve Salem?"

"Not you. The spirits of your weapons. When they died their souls became bound to their weapons. They chose the Arcs a long time ago because the Arcs are easily controlled. Crocea and Mors just wait until the perfect time to act."

"But Crocea told us how to control them." Rain said. "Why would they tell us the way to control them?"

"It's all an act. Having twins allows them to fully control their actions. I was actually instructed to deliver him," Raven pointed at Jaune. "along with the Maidens."

"But Crocea told us that Mors almost burned up Jaune's mind. I thought that was what they would want."

"If he burns up the mind, there is nothing to sustain the body and his host perishes. With twins, Crocea can keep enough of the mind alive to keep the body alive."

"Well, then why would she want just Jaune?" Rain turned to Jaune. "No offense."

Raven sat down on a bench. "Because, like Ozpin, she can create telepathic bonds. She'll likely kidnap another member of Jaune's family and bond them together."

"Why are you telling us this?"

"Because Yang told me you're fated to die. Salem assured me you would survive. How can I trust her now?"

"But why believe Yang?" Rain turned to Yang. "No offense."

"Some taken." Yang said.

"Because she," Raven pointed at Yang. "had no reason to lie. She wasn't trying to convince me to do anything. She was just informing me of a fact. I'm not an idiot; I knew Salem was manipulating me the whole time, but your survival was my original deal with her."

Rain seemed to come to a decision. "Does she have any surveillance around here?"

Yang looked at him. "Rain, what are you planning?"

"No." Raven said. "No, she doesn't."

"Then it's time to make a plan." Rain said with a glint in his eye.

* * *

 **A.N: So I'm gonna rant a little bit here. Please bear with me. Spoilers ahead.**

 **After watching episode three of the new season I can no longer ship Black Sun or Eclipse or whatever people call it (SunxBlake). Let me tell you why. I used to be in a relationship with a girl sort of like Blake. Fun to be around once you got through her outer shell, but also frightened by closeness. Sun is trying too hard to be with her. Asking her to the dance and following her around? Probably okay to most people. Following her to another freaking continent? That would scare off most normal people. Blake will probably end up running away again. My point is that he should have given her time to work things out for herself. That's what you have to do with people like Blake. Otherwise you end up getting burned. I learned that the hard way. Also, she is clearly not into him based on the new intro.**


	32. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: The Crucible**

"So that's the plan." Rain clapped his hands together. "I'll just take the Maiden powers from Winter and Pyrrha and we can all rest up for tomorrow."

"Why do you have to take our powers again?" Pyrrha asked. "That just seems superfluous."

"Because she'll likely kill you two for your powers. If I have the powers, she'll sense they aren't in you and you'll be in less danger."

"But how can you even take our powers?" Winter asked. "The powers don't go to men."

Rain sighed. "The powers don't _willingly_ go into men. With my semblance being what it is, I am confident I can take the Maiden powers out of you and leave your aura behind."

"I'm sorry, but this still doesn't sound like it will work." Pyrrha said.

"Why don't we just do this and you'll see what happens? Huh?"

"Okay. No need to get furious." Pyrrha responded.

Rain walked over to Pyrrha and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ready? Because I'm not going to stop once we start."

Pyrrha nodded.

"I need to hear you say it." Rain said morosely.

"Yes." Pyrrha said.

"Then let's do this." Rain activated his semblance and dove into Pyrrha's aura.

It was unlike any other time Rain had taken somebody's aura. He felt himself leave his body and fall into Pyrrha's aura. He landed in a coliseum with thousands of roaring spectators. The entire coliseum was made of black marble and carved with images of legendary fights throughout history.

"What the hell is this?" Rain said as he looked for an exit.

"This is my soul." Pyrrha appeared in a cloud of embers. "Think of me as the true manifestation of Pyrrha's soul. The Pyrrha you know has no idea this is happening."

"Okay, but what exactly is this?" Rain swept his hand around, gesturing towards the coliseum.

"Well, taking the power of the Maidens is a bit more involved than your usual process for taking aura. Given the nature of the power, you have to..." Pyrrha's soul seemed to struggle to find the word. "prove yourself to obtain the power. It's annoying; I would give the power to you if I could, but there are some rules that can't be broken."

"Okay. Bring on whatever bullshit trials there are." Rain cracked his knuckles and neck.

Pyrrha's soul dispersed and the crowd went silent. Three gates appeared in the walls of the arena and a eastern-style dragon appeared out of each. One was brown, the second was orange, and the third was a vibrant green.

"Oh, I get it." Rain said while jumping out of the way of a combined fire blast from all three dragons. "I have to defeat the dragons, which are the embodiment of the powers of the Maidens. I wonder if I should kill them or spare them."

Rain narrowly escaped another fireball, but came away with his hair singed. He reached up and felt the still-burned ends. "Now that was uncalled for." Rain jumped into the air and transformed into a condor. Rain flew up higher than the dragons and they pursued.

When he got to two hundred and fifty feet, Rain pulled in his wings and dove like a rock. The dragons roared and rammed into each-other attempting to eat him. Rain got to about their middles and spread out his wings, swooping all around their three bodies, trying to do the classic knotting trick.

The dragons seemed to be in perfect sync because they refused to get knotted up in each-other. Rain decided to switch tactics and transformed in the middle of the three of them. He stretched out his hand and froze the brown and green dragons together at the waist. The two dragons tried to pull apart, but snapped back and slammed their heads together. Rain climbed up their bodies and zapped their head until they collapsed to the floor of the arena. When they landed, their bodies disappeared and a crystal appeared where each of them had been, matching their scale colours.

Rain ran over and scooped them up. He heard the orange dragon screeching above him and saw it dive down across the arena from him. Before it hit the ground, the dragon swerved and started streaking towards Rain.

"If one cliche didn't work, maybe this one will." Rain ran forward and slid underneath the dragon. He flung his left arm (encased in an ice blade) up as he was sliding. The blade pierced the dragons stomach and spilled it's bowels everywhere. When he got to the end of the beast, the body dissolved as the other two had and left behind an orange crystal.

"Well that was annoying." Rain said to the air around him. "Now how do I get out of here?"

"I can help with that." Pyrrha's soul appeared again traced a doorway in the air with her finger. "Just step through the door and you'll wake up."

"Cool. Cool cool cool." Rain went for the doorway, but the soul stepped in his path.

"Now what?" Rain lamented.

"I can see your true plan." The soul said as the coliseum crumbled around them and an inky darkness replaced it.

"I figured you might. Are you going to warn Pyrrha?"

"No. But I want you to know that I can see your soul and I know what will happen when you do this."

"Can you give me any advice?"

The soul looked like the grave. "Die for her."

"I know a lot of 'hers'. Could you be a bit more specific?"

"If you really can't figure it out-"

A flaming, spectral hand punched Pyrrha's soul before she could finish, sending her flying. " **That's better. Can't have you revealing everything, now can we?** "

"You?" Rain was looking at a translucent version of himself on fire. "You're still locked up."

" **Hahahahaha. We are in the realm of the mind and the soul. I have become manifest because this land exists adjacent to where you locked me up. I'm real here, bitch.** " Sigma grabbed Rain and threw him away from the doorway. " **I think I'll have some fun at the wheel for a bit.** " Sigma made to walk through the doorway.

"I don't think so, you bastard." Rain pulled out all three gems and harnessed their power. He pulled Sigma away from the doorway with the strength of a tornado. Rain then held him in the air with gale-force winds. "If you're real here, then I can finally destroy you."

Rain lifted the gems and summoned a storm. Lightning lanced down from the obsidian clouds and arced into Sigma continuously until he started smoking. His skin turned black as coal and he let an earth-breaking scream. His scream eventually faded to a groan, and then it morphed into a chuckle.

" **Oh, Rainbow Prime. Did you really think you could kill me in my realm?** " He ripped himself out of the air and contained the lightning strikes to his left arm. " **It was a valiant effort, of that there is no doubt. But you need to understand this world before you can challenge it's inhabitants.** " Sigma pointed at Rain with his right hand. " **Lesson one:** " Lightning streaked from Sigma's index finger and struck Rain full in the chest, sending him flying away. Sigma appeared beside him when he landed. " **Your body is what you make of it.** " Sigma's arm transformed into an ax and streaked down towards Rain.

Rain brought up his arm and thought of it turning into a shield. Just before the ax struck, Rain's arm gave in to his mind and the blade was stopped by a shield. Rain turned his other arm into a ram and struck Sigma in the face.

"Thanks for giving away literally the biggest thing you could have." Rain stood up and turned his arms into cannons. "I thought you were supposed to be an evil me. Why would you do something so stupid?"

Sigma rubbed his jaw and glared at Rain. " **Technically, I'm your creativity and ambition. I don't have to be smart or particularly cunning. I just need to want something and come up with a billion crazy ways to get it.** "

"Well, you failed." Rain launched concentrated blasts of explosive dust out of both cannons, completely annihilating Sigma and leaving just a stain behind. "That was for Theta and Epsilon, you son-of-a-me." Rain then spat on the stain.

Pyrrha's soul reappeared in her typical cloud of embers. "Wow. That was... something. Who was that exactly?"

Rain turned his arms back into normal arms. "A fragment of my soul who was a total jackass. Can I get a new doorway, please? I kind of want to go back where things make sense."

Pyrrha's soul snapped her fingers and a new doorway appeared. Before Rain could go through, she stopped him again. "The road ahead is not long, but it is arduous. You won't like what you have to do."

"Yeah, I know. I have to 'die for her'. Whoever 'her' is. Can I go now?"

Pyrrha's soul stepped away. "If you want."

Rain stepped through the doorway and awoke in his body. Rain looked around at the expectant faces of the others.

"How long was I out?"

Yang spoke up. "You were only in contact with Pyrrha for a few seconds. How much time did you think had passed?"

Rain felt for the gems in his pocket. They were still there. "Nevermind." He turned to Winter. "You ready to go?"

"I guess." Winter sat cross-legged on the floor. "What should I expect?"

Rain grinned. "Absolutely nothing." Rain touched her shoulder.

Rain felt himself fall into her soul again, but it felt different this time. It was more like he was gliding on a thermal current. He saw a snow-capped mountaintop build itself around him. He alighted on the summit and noticed that he was above the clouds, the horizon stretching on forever.

"Took you long enough." Rain turned around and saw Winter's soul sitting under a cherry blossom tree. A low table and a tea set were placed in front of her. She took a sip of her tea. "Take a seat."

Rain sat down on a cushion that faded into existence. "This is not what I expected."

Winter's soul handed him a steaming cup. "Not all trials must be combat. Sometimes they reflect the aspects of the original Maidens. After all, the power was influenced just as much by them as by Salem."

Rain took a sip of the tea. "So what do I have to do for this trial?"

"If I told you that, this wouldn't be much of a trial." Winter's soul set her mug down. "Do you ever slow down and think about your life?"

"How do you mean?" Rain set down his mug as well.

"Your life has been conflict since you were old enough to walk. You were raised to see the enemy everywhere. As a result of your... twisted upbringing, you have trouble relaxing and being at peace. You also tend to believe that every failure is personally your own. Am I in the right neighbourhood?"

Rain smirked. "More or less. But why does that matter if I am going to die by the end of this. My life is not a happy one, but that is my lot. Someone has to draw the short straw occasionally. This just happened to be my turn. There's no shame in that."

Winter's soul let out a laugh. "No, there is no shame in that. I personally find it admirable. But sometimes people meant to suffer endure so much that they deserve to be happy. Do you not wish to be happy?"

Rain wore a thoughtful look. "I think we both know the answer to that." His countenance changed to a grin. "Besides, I have had some happiness in these last few weeks. I found some family. I connected physically and emotionally with a rather beautiful young lady. And I even found some friends I could count on. All in all, if I had to do it all over, I probably wouldn't change much. Except maybe I would find my family before I was firmly in my teens."

"So you prefer to be the one who must suffer? Interesting thought process." Winter's soul took another sip of her tea.

"That's not what I said."

"But it's what it sounded like. We often say what is in our hearts without consulting our brains. Without Sigma there to keep you on your guard, you've relaxed to the point where you'll slip up."

"Are you trying to say that Sigma was good for me?" Rain asked, fire in his eyes. "Because I don't believe that for one second."

"Oh, heavens no. All I meant was that the threat of Sigma taking control kept your guard up and made you watch your words around people. With that gone, you are able to speak your heart. And your heart seems to have a lot of self-hate. Now why is that, I wonder?"

"I was raised to believe that one man was insignificant when weighed against the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, not to mention millions. I was raised to fight to the bitter end if it meant protecting the world. And that is what I intend to do. Now are we quite finished here?"

"Not yet. There is one more thing you must know before I can allow you to obtain my power and leave."

"Is it the phrase 'die for her'? Because I already heard that from Pyrrha's soul."

"No." Winter's soul leaned in and whispered into Rain's ear. "How does that make you feel?"

Rain's face was positively glowing. "That makes me feel as if I finally have something I can live for." Rain seemed to realize something and his face darkened. "And that makes me task even harder to carry out."

Winter's soul held out her palm with a pale blue gemstone nestled in it. "I know you will accomplish said task regardless." She dropped the gem into Rain's expectant palm. It felt heavier than the others. Perhaps because more rested on it now.

"Where's the exit?" Rain said in a clipped fashion.

Winter's soul snapped her fingers and a gate appeared beside the tree. "Feel free."

Rain stood up. "How is it that people's souls know more than the people themselves could ever possibly know?"

"Because the nature of souls is that they exist at least partially outside the body. We also all talk to each-other, even to the newer souls. Except for your soul. He tends to be very rude and snobbish."

"Figures." Rain stepped through the gate.

Once again he saw the expectant faces of his friends and family.

"Did it work?" Raven asked.

"Yeah. I've got all the powers of the Maidens." Rain stood up and walked towards his room. "Everybody get some sleep. We move out at first light."

* * *

Yang woke with a hand over her mouth. "Shh." Rain swam into focus above her.

Yang slowly pulled his hand away. "What's up, bro?"

"We're leaving now. Only a few of us are actually going. I wasn't going to include you, but I figured you'd never forgive me for leaving you behind." Rain got up and moved towards the door. "We're meeting at the ruins of the tower. Go there when you've gotten ready for a massive fight." Rain slid out the door.

Yang got up and put on Ember Celica. She got into dark clothing and made her way as silently as she could out of the sleeping quarters and towards the courtyard. When she go there, she saw only Rain, Raven, Banner, and Moria.

"Took you long enough." Rain said when she was close enough.

"Why just us? Why not everyone?" Yang asked.

"Because we need to leave somebody behind in case we fail." Rain replied. "Also, because everyone else is mostly innocent and deserve to live. With the exception of you, the rest of us are more than due for death."

"Then let's go. How are we getting there?" Yang looked around.

Raven pulled out her red sword and slashed open five portals. "Like this." She disappeared through the first portal and it closed behind her. The others followed suit until Yang was the only one in the courtyard.

Yang looked back towards the sleeping quarters where her friends still slept soundly, unaware of the surprise the morning would bring. Surprisingly she saw Jaune step outside and walk towards her.

"Hey, Yang." Jaune said when he was in range. "I see you're about to have the final fight without us."

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

"No problem. I didn't really want to fight in the first place." Jaune looked back at the sleeping quarters. "The others might not take it so well."

"Why are you up anyways? It's the middle of the night."

"Pyrrha has been having night terrors. I was sitting outside her room in case she woke up screaming again. I'm surprised you didn't notice me."

"I was more focused on trying to get out quietly. Sorry." Yang made to step into the portal.

"Yang, wait. Be careful out there. I know Rain is supposed to die, but try to keep him safe. He gave me back Pyrrha."

"Sure Jaune." Yang stepped through the portal and it dwindled to nothing behind her.

Jaune watched where she had disappeared for a few seconds. "Thanks, Yang." Jaune's eyes flashed yellow. "Thanks a lot."

* * *

 **A.N: I think it's only going to be a few more chapters after this. And what could Winter's soul possibly have told Rain? Muahahaha**


	33. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: Sometimes people die**

Yang emerged onto a mountain top in the middle of a snowstorm. She looked around and saw the others moving downhill towards a cave set among the rocks. She quickly started moving after them.

"What took so long?" Rain asked as she made it into the cave.

"I was talking to Jaune." Yang said, blowing breath on her hands.

"Jaune? Why were you talking to Jaune?"

"He was up in case Pyrrha woke up screaming." Yang sat down on a boulder. "He said she's been having night terrors."

"That's adorable." Rain said. "I'd probably never do it, but that is adorable."

"Enough about your adorable blonde idiot friend." Raven had set up a fire pit. "We need to go over our plan of attack. Rainbow, where are the weapons?"

"I really hate that name, mother." Rain pulled a bundle out from under his coat. "Here they are." Rain unwrapped the bundle to reveal the Maidens' weapons.

"Why did you bring those?" Yang asked.

Rain pulled out the bow and handed it to Moria. "Because what I somehow forgot, until last night, is that these are technically weapons that have achieved a legendary status." Rain gave the daggers to Banner. "Which means that they can technically be used to kill Salem." Rain handed the sword and shield to Raven.

"Cool. So which of us gets the staff?" Yang said.

"You do." Rain tossed it to her. "I have the powers of the Maidens so I might be able to kill her just with that."

Yang started twirling the staff around. "So where's the cave we're looking for?"

Rain pulled off his gauntlets and pulled out the power gems. He also pulled out a small tool kit and started to modify his gauntlets to include the gems. "It's just over the next mountain. We won't be able to move well in the storm so we might as well stay here for a bit." Rain managed to pry off a few plates on the gauntlets and slid the gems into them; two to each.

"So do we have a plan of attack? Are we just gonna wing it?" Yang asked.

"Well, I had planned to use my semblance to cast Banner's semblance over me, you, and Moria. Then we would follow dear old mom into the cave, where she would speak with Salem and we would get in position to kill the bitch."

"Simple and effective." Yang said. "Except for the part where you extend Banner's semblance. How does that work?"

"If the semblance is only usable once someone has activated their aura, then it follows that I should be able to share semblances with someone if I am draining their aura. Then I can share that persons aura with multiple other people. Ergo, we can all share Banner's semblance." Rain got up to check the storm.

Yang turned to Raven. "Are you sure about this?"

Raven sighed and looked towards the entrance where Rain had disappeared. "Honestly? It's more improvisational than I would like. But I can't think of anything better. So we're going through with it."

Yang turned to Banner and Moria. "And you two are okay with this?"

The two Soldiers looked at each other for a few seconds. Finally, Banner spoke. "Rain's plans were often almost entirely improvisational or simple. We're used to it."

"Okay, then." Yang curled up on the flattest part of the floor and tried to sneak some sleep.

* * *

A man cloaked in shadow stood in front of the ever-shifting mosaic. He waited until Salem's pale form rose up from the black mist. He dropped to one knee. "Oh most holy goddess, I am your humble servant."

"Rise, my child." Salem responded. "Rise and tell me what you have learned."

The cloaked man stayed on his knee. "Crocea has informed me that Raven has turned against us. He says that Raven, her bastard twins, and what remains of Ozpin's Soldiers have come here to kill you. He also said that Rainbow Branwen now carries the power of all four Maidens. I shall not let them get close."

"No, my child. You will let them enter the cave and get to the mosaic. Then you will steal the power from Rainbow and open the gate But you must use the soul of the boy as the catalyst." Salem looked towards the cave's exit. "Soon I will rule once again."

"Yes, my goddess." The man stood up and disappeared into the shadows.

Salem turned to examine the mosaic. She took the time to analyze the timeline of important events that led to this moment. She noticed something new. Something that filled her with rage.

"I see you finally caught that." The Professor stepped out from the wall of the cave. "I knew it was just a matter of time. Haha. It's too bad that all that anger won't do you any good."

"How is it that you have managed to avoid the inescapable repercussions of your actions? You have messed with fate more often than even you can probably remember. And yet, you have not been attacked by the universe. Not once!"

"It's simple, sister. I never stay anywhere long enough for the universe to even register my existence." The Professor walked over to the mosaic. "Looking at this, you've done just as much interfering as I have. Maybe even more. How have you avoided the 'repercussions'?"

"I worked within the bounds of fate." Salem glared at him. "I saw what could happen and I manipulated people into doing what I wanted. You just show up wherever you want and do whatever you feel like."

"You know, I may do whatever I like, but at least I keep my eyes on the timeline. I don't try to wipe out one group or the other. I just fight to keep people alive." The Professor walked backwards towards the wall he had come from. "You might think about doing the same." He faded into the wall completely.

"What does that even mean? You just like being mysterious, don't you?" Salem yelled at the wall. When The Professor didn't reappear, Salem turned back to the mural and realized what he had been talking about.

The entire part of the mosaic covered in shadows was flickering between shadows and a scene of a burned out planet where not even the oceans remained. The only thing remaining was the grimm.

Salem smiled. "I'm keeping my eyes on the timeline now, you sonofabitch."

* * *

The Professor watched from through the wall. "Salem, Salem, Salem. Still not understanding your fate until it's too late. That's how you were beaten before and that is how you will fail again." He whispered to himself.

* * *

Yang was shaken awake by Rain. "Time to go." He said.

When Yang got to the mouth of the cave, Rain hooked her onto a rope that extended to the others, who were already in the process of crossing the mountain. Yang started climbing after them.

After a couple of hours, the five of them were standing under a shelf of rock, looking down at a small cave entrance. For all intents and purposes, it looked like any other cave. Although that was probably the idea.

"If anybody wants to back out," Rain looked at each of them in turn. "now is the time to do it. No shame, guys; we _are_ about to fight a veritable god here. We don't even know if what we're about to do can kill her. So, last chance."

Banner pulled out his daggers. "I think I speak for everyone when I say that we're with you to the bitter end. Whatever that may be."

"I'm not one to be emotional." Moria said.

"A bit of an understatement." Rain said.

"But," Moria continued, "if I am to die, I would be happy to die among friends."

Rain turned to Raven. "Mom?"

"You think I'd leave you here? After everything I've done to you?" Raven unsheathed the sword of the Summer Maiden. "No. I'm staying. If it comes down to it, I will die beside my son."

"Don't even ask." Yang held up a hand. "I can't let you go in there without me. We were born together we weren't raised together, but we will die together."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys. Can't help but notice that all of you at least partially assumed we'd die, but whatever. Let's go."

Rain slid down the side of the mountain and landed right across from the cave. The others landed quickly behind him. Banner placed a hand on Rain's shoulder, and Moria and Yang each grabbed an arm.

Rain was able to integrate their auras together so that all of them became invisible. Raven took that as her cue and started walking into the cave, the others close behind her.

As they walked around the first bend, they saw a double line of fires with no visible torches or other sources. Rain could feel the gems in his gauntlets reacting to them, almost as if they recognized their own handiwork.

They were only walking for about ten minutes before they emerged into the large cavern with the mosaic of fate. Under any other circumstances, they would have gaped in awe, but given the gravity of their situation, they saw it, processed it, and ignored it.

"Salem! I need to speak with you." Raven shouted at the mosaic.

Salem rose from the shadows and seemed to look through Raven. "Hello, dear. Whatever do we need to talk about? I already changed my deal for you once. You can't possibly wish to change it again."

"No. I don't want to change the deal. But I am concerned about something my children told me. Apparently my son is fated to die no matter what. I'm sure this is false, seeing as you can see the future and all. But my children would have no reason to lie. So I just wanted to know if you were concealing something from me." Raven placed a hand on the hilt of her sword.

Salem let out a small laugh. "Raven, my dear. Of course your son has a chance of dying. Even more so, now that he is here. It's quite rude not to introduce yourself, young man." Salem seemed to see right through their invisibility. "But then again, my son is the same way."

Rain felt something hit him like a freight train in the back of the head. He went down and before everything went black, he saw a shadow attacking his comrades.

* * *

When Rain came to, he was tied up against a wall. He saw the others sitting to either side of him, trussed up like turkeys and slowly regaining consciousness as well. In the middle of the chamber, the shadow that had attacked them was using the Maiden gems to build some kind of gate and then setting them into it.

A pale hand swam into Rain's field of vision and lifted his chin. "Well look who can shake off a concussion." Salem's red eyes were full of a manic zeal. "And just in time for the sacrifice, too."

"What are you planning?" Rain asked groggily.

"Well, long ago, Ozpin imprisoned me in what you would call hell. Most human souls go there after death and I've even found a process to transform there souls into grimm. Anyway, unbeknownst to Ozpin, he had gifted me with my child." She raised a hand to indicate the shadow building the gate. "And he has been such a good son over the years. Every time I need something done he has gone out and done it. Unfortunately my boy was not immortal like his parents. So I found a way to make him live forever... sort of. I introduced his genome into the human race piece by piece. So that when certain pieces lined up together, he would be reborn."

The shadow walked over and lifted his hood. A tangle of spiky blond hair popped out from underneath. The golden crown framed hard, violet eyes. Rain realized he was looking in a mirror.

"What is this?" Rain asked.

"You are of me, Rainbow. You are my child. But your human father's genes influenced you too much. I saw that coming and created a backup. Something to..." Salem struggled for the proper word. "awaken your darker instincts."

Things started clicking into place. "Lucian. That's what the fragments were talking about. He existed solely to make me evil?"

"Well, to make you yourself. But _you_ had to fight against it. You had to imprison your true self and now you've killed him. On the one hand, you are a shame. But on the other, you are wholly unique. You are my son, but you're not. And that is why I have chosen your soul to bring me into this world."

"What? Why do you need to be brought into this world? You're right here."

"I can only enter Remnant in this cave. To get out of my hell permanently, I need a gate powered by a Primordial. Hence, the Maiden powers which you so graciously brought me. But I also need a living soul to act as the key."

"You get away from him, you bitch!" Yang was screaming and struggling against her bonds.

Salem stood up and walked over to Yang. "The good twin has awoken. If only you had absorbed all of his goodness. Then this wouldn't be an issue."

"Fuck you." Yang spat on Salem's face. "I don't care what you say; my brother is not your son. He is the son of Taiyang Xiao Long and Raven Branwen, and he is a hero."

Salem slapped Yang. "You know nothing, child. Your brother is my son and more powerful than you could ever imagine. You belittle him by claiming he is human. He is a demigod!"

"Mother," the Shadow-Rain had snuck up without any of them noticing. "The portal is ready to receive my brother's soul."

Salem straightened up and cradled Shadow-Rain's face in her hands."Very good, my son. Bring him towards the gate and activate the gems. Then throw him in."

"As you wish, mother." Shadow-Rain picked up Rain and brought him over to the gate. He then proceeded to chant words in a language Rain couldn't identify over each gem. When he was finished, each was pouring a steady stream of light into the center of the gate. The lights began mixing and expanding until the combined lights covered the gate.

Shadow-Rain picked Rain up and set him on his feet. "Any last words, brother?"

"Fuck you." Rain said.

"Not the words I would have chosen, but no matter." Shadow-Rain moved to shove Rain into the gate.

An earth-shattering screech could be heard and a blue and gold phoenix slammed into Shadow-Rain. The two bodies fell into the gate. Their souls could literally be seen fleeing their bodies and being absorbed by the gate. The two bodies fell to the ground, lifeless and pale. The phoenix had turned back into Yang.

"NO!" Rain's grief summoned some of the power from the gate and incinerated his bonds. He picked up Yang's lifeless body and held it close to himself, crying for the first time in his life.

The others managed to free each other and gathered around him, unsure what to do or say, but still wanting to help. Raven knelt beside him and stroked her daughter's hair, tears springing to her eyes. "It should have been me."

"No, actually." Salem stepped through the portal and became a bit more solid than she had been before. "It should have been Rainbow. That was the prophecy: Him dying for her would have saved your world. I purposefully made it so that Yang would have the chance to save him. And now _I_ win."

Rain started to laugh. Slow and low at first, but eventually rising to maniacal laughter before petering out with him locking eyes with Salem. What she saw in his eyes made her blood freeze. "You stupid bitch." He said. "Have you forgotten what my semblance is? This is exactly what was supposed to happen. This is what everyone meant. I get to save her this way."

Salem seemed to understand a second late what was about to happen. "No!" She tried to stop him, but she was too slow.

Rain pressed his hand over Yang's chest and started pouring every ounce of his aura into her. Every piece of himself was being given to her. With his last bit of strength, Rain leaned down and whispered, "Taste the Rainbow." He then kissed her forehead and passed his aura's spark into Yang.

Rain fell to the side as Yang sat up, gasping for air. Salem turned to the mosaic and saw that it had stopped showing the burned-out wasteland.

"Congratulations, Salem." The Professor appeared, standing over Rain. "You didn't see it until it was too late, just like always. How does it feel to be thwarted by your own creation?"

"I haven't lost yet. He's dead and I am back in the world. I will triumph!" Salem screamed at The Professor.

A body flew out of the gate. It was easily recognizable as Ozpin, but he was dishevelled, beaten, and bloody. A hand wearing a yellow gauntlet snaked out after that and grabbed hold of Salem's throat. Banner ran up and rammed both daggers deep into her black heart.

The gate collapsed and the hand dispersed into mist, but Salem was dying. The Professor leaned over her as she began to choke on her own blood. "No, little sister, you won't." With that, Salem breathed her last and The Professor closed her eyelids.

Ozpin crawled over and held onto Salem for a few minutes. He eventually pried himself away. "Will you take her?" Ozpin looked up at The Professor.

"Yes. I'll lay her to rest beside our other fallen brethren." The Professor leaned down and picked up Salem's corpse. Before he left, he placed a hand on Yang's shoulder. "I'm sorry." He said and then walked into the wall.

* * *

 **A.N: Sorry. Please don't think this is the end, because there is one more chapter, guys.**


	34. Soldiers The Final Chapter

**Chapter 29: The End...?**

"I can't believe they left us behind." Blake said as she paced around the courtyard. "What if they got outnumbered? They should have taken at least one more person."

"I'm sure they're fine." Jaune said. "Maybe they just didn't want to put anybody else in danger."

"That wasn't their choice to make!" Blake shouted. "We were all ready to fight and die. Why didn't he understand that?"

"Maybe-" Jaune froze.

"Maybe what?" Blake asked, concerned.

Jaune started shaking and then he exploded with light. Two wraith-like apparitions flew out of the light and squealed in pain before disintegrating into the air. Jaune collapsed on the ground.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha ran over and cradled his head in her lap. "Jaune, wake up."

Jaune's eyes fluttered open. "I'm okay." He sat up, wincing as he did so. "I'm okay."

"What happened?" Blake asked.

"Crocea has been controlling me for days. He got me to manipulate Yang before they left. I couldn't see the whole plan, but he wanted Yang to die. I guess our people won, though. Crocea and Mors were sustained by Salem's powers. So if they're gone..."

"Then Rain did it." Blake's face split into a giant grin. "Woohoo."

Everybody broke into scattered cheers. Everybody except for Winter.

"What's wrong, Winter?" Weiss asked.

"It's a bit early to celebrate." All eyes were drawn to Winter.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"We don't know what the price was for this victory."

As if to underscore her point, a large portal opened up in front of the ruined guard tower. First through was Banner, followed quickly by Moria. Then Yang came through, tears staining her cheeks and supporting a near dead Ozpin. Finally, Raven came through, holding a limp, lifeless corpse in her arms.

"No." Blake fell to her knees. "No no no."

Raven walked over and laid the body down in front of Blake. Ruby came over and knelt beside Blake. "I'm so sorry." Raven said. "It's my fault."

"No," Yang said. "it's mine. If I hadn't-" Yang's voice broke and fresh tears ran down her face.

"The fault lies with me." Ozpin spoke from where he had collapsed against a piece of rubble. "I am to blame for all of this. I failed to kill Salem when I should have and that caused untold pain throughout history. But especially today. I am so sorry for this."

"All of you just shut up." Banner said to a chorus of gasps. "Rain wouldn't want this. He wouldn't all of you trying to take the blame. He did what had to be done. End of story. He saw a problem and he fixed it. None of you are to blame for his choices. Do you understand me?" Banner stared at each of them in turn until they nodded.

"Good." Banner continued. "Rain was a good man and he wouldn't want you all to hate yourselves because of his actions. He did tell me once that he wants a statue, but that's neither here nor there."

"Then he'll have a statue." Ozpin managed to struggle to a standing position. "And a funeral befitting a hero of legend. We need to preserve his body. Someone freeze him right now."

The Schnee sisters pulled out their swords and loaded ice Dust into the chambers. They crossed their blades over Rain's chest and poured a perfect coffin of ice around his body.

"Okay, let's head home." Ozpin said.

* * *

Several weeks later there was a gathering at the newly rebuilt Beacon academy. From Menagerie to Atlas, everybody who was anybody made sure they were in attendance. The story of what Rain had done for Remnant had spread to every corner of the world. Everybody felt duty-bound to honour the sacrifice of the brave young man who had given everything for everyone with no thought to his own reward.

"I never thought a Branwen would go down in history." Raven said from her seat between Qrow and Tai. "At least not in a good way." A tear rolled down her cheek.

Tai put his hand over hers. "Our son was a hero. He earned this."

"Yeah," Qrow chimed in, sober for once. "that kid was better than I ever gave him credit for. I wish he didn't die thinking I hated him. But where are the girls? They're gonna miss the big production Oz is putting on." Qrow waved a hand to indicate the stage.

As far as stages go, it was pretty simple. Only about a hundred square feet. But the real eye-catcher was behind it. A large something was hidden underneath a gigantic sheet. General Ironwood himself was on guard to ensure that no one revealed the object before its time.

"I'm sure they're just running a bit late." Tai said. "I mean, what else could it be?"

* * *

Blake vomited into a toilet for the third time that morning. "What is wrong with me?" She asked as Yang handed her a towel. "This can't just be nerves."

"Well," Ruby said from her place by the door. "there is a somewhat common illness that lasts three-quarters of a year which has morning sickness as a symptom."

Yang and Blake both froze. "Did she just?" Yang asked Blake.

"I think she did." Blake said before throwing up again.

"I may be younger than you two, but I still understand how relationships evolve. Plus we all heard about your last night together. In my case, I literally heard part of it when I got up to use the bush." Ruby said with a blush.

Blake turned pale as a ghost. "I'm so sorry, Ruby."

"It's fine. I didn't really know what I heard until you two walked out of the woods the next morning."

"I swear, if that bastard left me with a bastard of my own, I'll kill him again." Blake threw up again.

Yang was about to argue the fact that she couldn't really kill him again, but she was interrupted by a large clanging of bells.

"I guess it's time." Yang said, suddenly serious.

The three of them walked out of the bathroom and towards the front row. Blake walked between Ruby and Yang, just in case she collapsed.

"I was wondering if you three were gonna make it." Qrow said as they sat down. "What were you doing?"

"I just found out that I accidentally signed an unbreakable eighteen year contract." Blake said, her face slightly tinged with green.

The three adults all turned to look at her as one. Raven spoke first. "It's just like what happened with us." She whispered to the other two out of the side of her mouth.

"Dear whatever gods there are, please help this not turn out like we did." Tai said under his breath.

Qrow just burst out laughing, only stopping himself when Ozpin took the stage.

Ozpin had recovered quickly from his torture at the hands of Salem. However, he still walked with a noticeable limp and his cane was more of a necessity than a prop. Glynda walked him to the podium, just in case he fell. When he finally got to the podium, he leaned on it to catch his breath.

"Your attention, please." Ozpin cleared his throat and straightened his tie. "Today we come together to honour the sacrifice of Rainbow Branwen. Or 'Rain' as he preferred to be called. This young man experienced more in his short life than many have by the time of their deaths. He experienced the good and the bad, but had much more experience with the bad. Due to the nature of his mission, I cannot go into detail about said experiences. But it was by my order that he had to go through them. And so I find it fitting that I remind myself of that every morning."

Ozpin limped to the side and nodded to Ironwood. The general whipped the sheet away in one smooth motion. Underneath stood a statue of Rain, hewn from pure white marble. He wore his grimm mask, standing out in its rainbow colouring. His face stared out over the cliffs and into the horizon, arms crossed as if to say: _This is what I died for? Disappointing._

Ozpin returned to the center of the stage. "Three more statues are on their way to the other academies as we speak. This one will be unique however. For at its base will Rain be buried." Ozpin looked to his right as a way of summoning somebody. Rain's coffin appeared, being carried by Banner, Moria, Barney, and the three other headmasters. They walked until they were beside the podium and set the coffin straight up so that all could see Rain's calm face.

"I have done everything I can to try and make up for the hell this young man had to go through." Ozpin paused and he seemed to have come to a conclusion. "But it isn't enough. I realize that now. The truth is that I have lived longer than I have a right to and I have sent too many men and women off to an early grave. I cannot make up for everything I have done. That list is infinite. But I can make up for this, at least."

Ozpin limped over to Rain's coffin and placed a hand on the ice. "When you can do things for the good of others, but you don't, and then terrible, unspeakable things happen, it is your fault. I can no longer go on as I have. If this manages to cleanse my soul a little bit, then I will count myself as lucky."

Ozpin collapsed, but Banner caught him before he hit the stage. The assembled dignitaries and Huntsmen rose out of their seats to see what had happened. Everyone's eyes were on Ozpin, until Rain's coffin started to crack. It started with a few little pings here and there until one massive CRACK could be heard echoing across the courtyard. The ice fell away and Rain stood in the center, arms crossed. Mirroring the statue almost identically.

Rain quickly noticed Ozpin collapsed in Banner's arms. "You shouldn't have brought me back, Oz. You're more valuable than me."

"It's that kind of thinking," Ozpin wheezed out. "that got us into the situation where you had to die." Ozpin grabbed Rain's shirt and pulled him closer. "Live today to build a better tomorrow. And remember me." Ozpin let the last words out in a sigh as he breathed his last.

"Oz?" Rain grabbed his dead mentor by the jacket. "Oz!"

* * *

Rain had been rushed off the stage by his friends and onto a bullhead to take him to his family's home on Patch. Only his family, the Soldiers, Barney, and Blake had gone with him. And only they knew where he had gone. People were still reeling from Ozpin's sudden death and they wanted answers only Rain could provide.

"So," Rain said, flopping into an armchair. "what happened after I, you know?"

"After you died?" Banner asked.

"Exactly."

"Well, your soul apparently went to hell because, not a minute after you died, someone threw Ozpin back out of the portal and then tried to strangle Salem through it." Banner said.

"And then," Moria took up the story. "Banner stabbed Salem with the daggers of Spring. She bled out quickly and some strange guy showed up to take away her body. When we got back to the others, there were lots of tears and blame-taking until Banner shut them up and said you wouldn't want that."

"Okay." Rain said. "A bit weird hearing about your own wake, but whatever. What did you do with the gems?"

"Oh, shit." Raven said. "I knew we forgot something. We left them in the cave." Raven refused to meet Rain's eyes.

"Well, they're in a fairly remote location that only a few throughout history have ever found. I think we can afford to leave them for a bit." Rain let out a tired sigh. "Anything else I should know?"

"Well," Yang put an arm around Blake's shoulders, her eyes full of glee. "There is one more development that we just learned about today. Go on, Blake. Tell him the good news."

Blake shifted and fidgeted uncomfortably. "Um, well, the thing is..."

"You got your girlfriend pregnant, kid." Qrow said, taking a swig from his flask. "Nice job."

"Oh yeah, I already knew about that." Rain said. Everybody looked at him with shock. "What?" He asked, looking around.

"How did you know?" Blake asked.

"Winter told me. Or rather, her soul did." Rain said. "When I was getting the Maiden powers from her and Pyrrha, I stepped into their souls. Apparently souls speak to each-other and Winter's saw a new soul growing within Blake's."

"So you died, knowing that you had a child on the way? And you were okay with that?" Yang asked.

"No, it made what I had to do that much harder. I honestly don't even know why she told me. Seemed like kind of a dick move, now that I think about it." Rain said.

"Well, where the fuck do we go from here?" Banner asked.

"We killed the source of all grimm, shut down a terrorist organization, and brought a rocky peace back to Remnant." Rain relaxed into the chair even more. "I think it's time for somebody else to answer that question for awhile, don't you?"

*Cue Pirates of the Caribbean credits music*

* * *

 **A.N: Thank you to everyone who has read this fanciful fanfic and enjoyed it. This will be the final chapter. So long and farewell, my fantastic audience. If anybody has any questions, P.M. me and I'll try to answer them.**


End file.
